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TWO BOYS IN THE TROPICS 


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THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 


MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 

TORONTO 




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Hummingbird visiting the Flowers 


TWO BOYS IN THE 
TROPICS 


ELISA HALDEMAN FIGYELMESSY 


Neijj gork 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
1910 


All rights reserved 



Copyright, 1910, 

By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 


Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1910. 



Norbiootf ilress 

J. S. Cushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 


©CI,A271844 


INTRODUCTION 


This book was written during a long stay of the 
author in the tropics. Her husband, who was United 
States Consul to British Guiana for over twenty 
years, had exceptional opportunities for collecting 
the various animals and plants of the Colony. The 
anecdotes about the strange animal friends Toys and 
Halde had to play with are, therefore, authentic, 
and may prove of interest to other American boys 
who have not had the good fortune to visit that 
wonderland for children, — South America and the 
West Indies. > 


/ 



CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

I. 

The Start . . , 

• 

• 



PAGE 

I 

II. 

On the Bark 

• 

• 



lO 

III. 

The Wide Sea 

• 

• 



24 

IV. 

The Gulf Stream 

• 

• 



32 

V. 

Fine Weather 

• 

• 



41 

VI. 

Fishing 

• 

• 



49 

VII. 

A Calm 

• 

• 



56 

VIII. 

Still under Sail . 

• 

• 



67 

IX. 

Land at Last 

• 

• 



79 

X. 

A Home in the Tropic of 

Cancer 



86 

XI. 

Nineteen Miles a Second 





94 

XII. 

Next Morning . 

• 




104 

XIII. 

Trees .... 

• 

• 



1 12 

XIV. 

A Monkey Experiment 

• 

• 



118 

XV. 

More Trouble . 

• 

• 



125 

XVI. 

The Rainy Season 

• 

• 



132 

XVII. 

COCOANUTS . 

• 

• 



141 

XVIII. 

In a Tropical Garden 

• 

• 



152 

XIX. 

Orchids and Vines 

• 

• 



162 

XX. 

Humming-birds and Ants 

• 

• 



169 

XXI. 

Hanna 

• 

• 



178 

XXII. 

Father^ s Pet 

• 

• 



188 


vii 


Contents 


viii 


CHAPTER PAGE 


XXIII. 

Other Pets . 

. 

• 

• 

« 


195 

XXIV. 

Monkeys Again 

• 

. • 

• 

• 


204 

XXV. 

Mother’s Pets 

• 

• 

• 

• 


210 

XXVI. 

Nobody’s Pet. 

• 

• 

• 

• 


219 

XXVII. 

The Kite Season 

• 

• 

• 

• 


230 

XXVIII. 

Kite-flying 

• 

• 

• 

• 


237 

XXIX. 

The Dry Season 

• 

• 

• 

• 


247 

XXX. 

The Pony Cart 

• 

• 

• 

• 


253 

XXXI. 

The Coolie House 

. 

• 

• 

• 


262 

XXXII. 

Seeing better than 

Guessing 


• 


273 

XXXIII. 

Indian Games . 

. 

. 

• 

• 


287 

XXXIV. 

Robinson Crusoe’s 

Island 

• 

• 


297 

XXXV. 

Trinidad 

. 

• 

• 

• 


310 

XXXVI. 

Grenada and Barbadoes 

• 

• 

• 


318 

XXXVII. 

Other Islands 

• 

• 

• 

• 


329 

XXXVIII. 

Bywater 

• 

• 

• 

• 


338 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Hummingbird visiting the Flowers .... Frontispiece . 

FACING PAGE 

The Port of Baltimore. , . , . . . 8 v 

A Flock of Seagulls . . . , . , . 12 .. 

A Bark . . . . . . . . . 22 

A Group of Palms . 80 

Market Day in a Village Square ..... 84 

A Home in the Tropic of Cancer . . , . . 88 

A Banana Orchard . . , . . . .110 

Drying Coifee . . . . . . , .114 

Primeval Forest of the Essequibo River . . , .116 

Sapajou . . . . . • . . .122, 

The Pickaninnies’ Candy rshop . . . . .134 

Orchids . . . . . . . . .152 

Coolie Women and Children working in the Fields . . 156 

Coolie Boys on a West Indian Farm . . . .158 

Pulling through the Rapids . . • • . .164 

A Country Home in the Tropics . • . . .176 

An Indian Family at Home . . • , • . 178 . 

A Visit from the Milkman . • . . . .184 .. 

Father’s Pet — Joe, the Puma . • • • . 192 .. 

The Ibis . . . . . . • . . 196 ; 

Indian Market Women ...... 200 


IX 


X 


Illustrations 


PAGE 


Mother’s Pet — the Anteater 




210 

Another of Mother’s Pets — the Sloth 




216 

A Town in the Hills .... 




226 

Kites ...... 




230 

A Chinese Coolie Farmer . . , 




244 . 

Carrying Water .... 




250 1/ 

A Coolie Girl dressed in her Best . 




264 

A Family of Carib Indians . 




282 

A Family of Indians and their Pets 




284 

A Carib Hut in the Mountains 




288 

Indians ...... 




292 

Indian Children ..... 




294 u 

A Peccary, or Wild Pig 




306 . 

Out for a Walk ..... 




330 

The Ruined City of Martinique 




332 

A Sugar Plantation .... 




334 

Negro Women on their Way to Market, St. Kitts 



336 i/ 

Bywater ...... 

. 



344 ^ 


TWO BOYS IN THE TROPICS 



TWO BOYS IN THE TROPICS 


CHAPTER I 

THE START 

L OYS and Halde were two American boys; that 
is, they were born in the United States. Did 
you ever think that boys born in Brazil, Mex- 
ico, and Canada are also Americans Only they can 
be called Brazilians, Mexicans, or Canadians; but 
the people of the United States have no name of 
their own. 

The two boys had been living with their grand- 
parents at a beautiful old place in Pennsylvania, 
called Bywater, when their father’s business called 
him to South America, and he decided to take his 
family along. 

They had been very happy at Bywater. Two 
uncles and a kind aunt had taken them nutting, 
fishing, and to the circus. In summer they drove 
Mike, the old horse, about the green roads between 
the great wheat fields of the county; in winter they 
coasted all day down the snow-covered hills, and in 
the evening listened to stories which Auntie read to 


2 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

them by the wood fire. But the boys no sooner 
heard of the journey than they were anxious to be 
off. They could think, for the present, of nothing 
but of sailing on a ship and of running about in gar- 
dens where oranges grow and where, perhaps, they 
might catch a wild monkey or a parrot. 

It was a cold morning in January when the family 
left Bywater. Auntie buttoned on the boys’ over- 
coats, though she could scarcely see to do it — Halde 
said the smoke from a passing locomotive had gotten 
into her eyes. Many kisses were given and taken, 
good-bys were said in many voices, and finally 
the boys climbed into the carriage, where their 
mother already sat in her corner, very quiet and very 
sad at leaving her dear people. Good wishes filled 
the air, there was a waving of handkerchiefs, and 
the old German gardener, hat in hand, made deep 
bows, his stiff gray hair looking as if it had been 
broken short by the wind. 

At the station the children had just time to warm 
themselves when the train puffed up. ‘‘Now we 
are off,” shouted both, as the whistle was heard. 

How fast they went ! Sometimes it seemed as 
if the fences and trees were rushing along outside; 
but v/hen the boys turned their eyes into the car, 
they found it was themselves that were moving. 

Soon they laid aside scarves and overcoats, and 
when their father, Mr. Francis, entered, Halde handed 


The Start 


3 


him his mittens, saying, “Father, you can give them 
to some poor little boy/’ 

“Why?” 

“ Because we shall soon be in the warm country, 
and I shall not need them.” 

Loys, who thought he knew much more on every 
subject than his younger brother, laughed, and re- 
plied, “We must get on the ship before we can reach 
the warm country, Halde.” 

“Yes, and it will be some time after that,” added 
Mr. Francis. 

“Then I think we had better eat a little cake, or 
we may be hungry.” 

Loys heartily agreed to this idea and opened a 
basket that Auntie had prepared for the trip. By 
and by, tired of looking out, the children leaned back 
on the soft cushions of the seat and were rocked to 
sleep by the motion of the car. 

When they awoke, the train was moving slowly, 
and Mr. Francis said, “Here is Baltimore; put on 
your things; it is very cold.” 

What a change from the quiet of Bjrwater to the 
noise at the station: the shrill sound of whistles, 
passengers and porters hurrying about, baggage vans 
rumbling along, and the hackmen shouting and 
holding up their whips to attract attention. 

Each driver appeared to want Mr. Francis to go 
with him, which Halde thought very kind. Taking 


4 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

the nearest cab, the family soon arrived at the hotel, 
where supper and a good bed awaited them. 

By next morning a deep snow had fallen. Spark- 
ling masses hung on the bare trees, on the sign- 
boards, on the telegraph wires, and on the house tops. 
Mrs. Francis and the children sat at the parlor 
windows watching the scene. Merry schoolboys 
amused themselves pelting all who came in their 
way; and other boys, not so merry, were busy shovel- 
ling the pavements clean. People with blue noses 
and red eyes waded, slipped, and tumbled in all 
directions. A snow plough was tossing the white 
drifts before it like sea foam. Butcher carts, milk 
wagons, and bread wagons struggled in its wake, and 
a few sleighs drawn by restive horses plunged over 
the white hills and valleys of snow. 

Mr. Francis had gone to see when the vessel would 
sail. By and by he returned, saying that they must 
take an early dinner and go on board at once. 

At this news the children began to dance. 

“I wish it was not so bitter cold,” went on Mr. 
Francis, “or that we were already a week out in 
warmer weather. The cabin is very small.” 

“ I wish we were three weeks out, and about step- 
ping ashore at the end of our journey,” said Mrs. 
Francis. 

“I wish we were many, many days and weeks out, 
and had many yet to go. I want to climb the masts 


The Start 


5 

and catch fish. Do not let us wait for dinner.’’ It 
was Loys who spoke. 

'‘I want to catch a whale, but I want to eat my 
dinner, too,” chimed in Halde. 

“You had better eat as much as possible while you 
can. I dare say you will be sick the first few days,” 
prophesied their mother. 

“Not until we get to the open sea,” said Mr. 
Francis. “The bay is one hundred and sixty 
miles long, and I hear it is full of floating ice.” 

“Can we slide on it?” cried out both boys. 

“Will the bay be dangerous ?” asked their mother. 

“There is a certain amount of danger everywhere. 
We must be willing to take our share, and meet it 
with courage when it comes.” 

“I would rather not meet it at all,” smiled Mrs. 
Francis. 

Not much dinner was eaten. The children were too 
excited and their mother too sad with the thoughts of 
leaving home. Mr. Francis alone had an appetite, but 
the boys gave him little peace, each moment saying : — 

“Father, you must hurry, we will be left.” 

“Father, please do not eat any more.” 

“ Mother, please help us with our overcoats ; I am 
sure the ship will start without us.” 

“Oh, Father! I hope you do not intend to take 
dessert. I will give you some of my cakes when we 
get on board.” 


6 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘Father eats as much as a big bear/’ pouted Halde. 
“ More than a bear/’ affirmed Toys. 

“Well, Mother, get their coats. I am afraid they 
will be as glad to end their journey as to begin it.” 

In a few minutes they were ready and ran down- 
stairs to see the baggage being loaded on a dray. 
The boxes intended for immediate use were marked 
Cabin. The others were to be put into the hold, 
which is not opened until the vessel reaches port. 
Loys, who heard his father explain this, begged him 
not to let the box of good things from Bywater get 
into the hold. 

“You boys and the box had better go in the hold 
together, then we will have no more trouble until 
we arrive.” 

“Oh, no. Father! We promise to be very good 
and obedient,” answered both. 

“I hope so, otherwise you will fall overboard and 
the sharks will eat you, cake and all. As the chil- 
dren are so impatient, we had better walk; there is 
still plenty of time.” 

The boys, acting on this hint, were soon out of the 
front door, their father and mother following more 
slowly. “Now look your last at the streets and 
people; you will not see your own country for a long 
time.” 

“Poor boys ! they do not yet know what the words, 
‘your own country,’ mean.” 


The Start 


7 

‘‘Home is where the heart is,” answered Mr. 
Francis, cheerfully. 

“But when the heart is divided, how then 

Nothing more was said, and presently they turned 
into a smaller street, from where a view could be 
had of the harbor. Their vessel, the PotomaCy 
lay by the wharf with the “blue Peter” flying at her 
masthead ; this is a small flag, the signal for sailing. 
Carters were busy delivering cargo, and stevedores, 
the men who load ships, rolled barrels and jerked 
boxes within reach of the crane, a machine for lifting 
heavy weights. Its great iron hooks, like claws, 
grasped masses of freight, swung them over a hatch- 
way, or square opening on deck, and lowered them 
into the hold, where other men stowed them away. 

There were hogsheads of tobacco; tierces of hams; 
barrels of flour, pork, beef, peas; bags of beans, 
corn, cornmeal ; cases of kerosene, lard, butter, canned 
fruits; boxes of clocks, chairs, shoes, slates, sewing 
machines; trusses of hay and bundles of brooms. 
The merchant who owned the Potomac was sending 
these things to be sold in South America. 

In summer time cows, horses, and sheep are often 
carried, the pens being on deck; but a winter storm 
would wash the animals overboard. Sometimes 
the whole cargo is of staves, which are loaded at 
Norfolk, Virginia, and cut from the red and white 
oak forests of that State. Pitch pine and white 


8 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

pine from Georgia and Florida are also taken, the 
wood of South America being only suitable for 
beams and the stronger parts of houses. 

Mr. Francis pointed out these things to the boys 
as they walked along the wharf, and told them that 
the Potomac would bring back a cargo of sugar when 
she returned. Each country sends to the others 
what it does not need of its own produce and manu- 
factures, and receives in return the surplus of other 
countries; this exchange is called commerce. 

‘‘What is a cargo?’’ asked Loys. 

“The lading or load of a ship is the cargo, and the 
place where it is put is the hold. The roof of this 
hold is the deck. Sailing vessels are known by the 
number of masts they carry and the way the sails are 
stretched. Ships, barks, brigs, schooners, and sloops 
are among the larger craft. As for the smaller 
boats, they have different forms and names in every 
port.” 

“I thought everything with sails was a ship,” 
said Halde. 

“Is everything with wheels a carriage ?” 

Halde laughed. “It would be funny to call a cart 
a carriage.” 

“To a sailor it would sound just as funny to call 
a bark a ship. Not only the different vessels, but 
every sail, rope, and spar has a name of its own, and 
a man who wishes to be a sailor must spend some 



The Port of Baltimore 







The Start 


9 


time at sea before he can know them all. Look at the 
Potomac ; she is a bark. She has a foremast, a main- 
mast and a mizzenmast. 

‘‘The first two are rigged — that is, have the sails 
fastened to them — like those of a ship. They hang 
square on the yards, or crosspieces, as much sail 
being on one side as on the other. But the mizzen- 
mast, or that nearest the rudder, has its sails all on one 
side, stretched from a boom or beam forming an 
L with the mast. Its large lower sail is called 
the spanker, perhaps because the wind makes it 
flap back and forth as a slipper sometimes does 
when children are naughty. 

“Thus a bark is a vessel carrying three masts, two 
square-rigged, and one, the mizzenmast, schooner 
or side rigged. People now seldom travel on sailing 
vessels, but there is no direct line of steamers to the 
port where we are going.^’ 


CHAPTER II 


ON THE BARK 

A PLANK lay from the wharf to the vessel, by 
which the family reached the deck, where 
they were met by the first mate. To their 
questions he replied that the bark would not get off 
for at least two hours. “More cargo is expected, 
and the captain has not yet come aboard,’’ he ex- 
plained. 

The boys were disappointed at the delay, but while 
their parents went to the cabin they amused them- 
selves looking about. 

The harbor was a pretty sight. Many ships 
stood wedged in the ice, their white sails spread to dry; 
their yards, decks, and rigging covered with sparkling 
snow, making them look like huge sugar toys just 
waiting to be eaten. People walked and skated on 
the solid water; steamers and ferry-boats came and 
went, crunching a passage which closed again as they 
passed. On the loose blocks sea-gulls floated and 
quarrelled over garbage, thrown from the galleys, 
circling in the air as they found a dainty morsel 
so that their greedy friends might not steal it away. 


On the Bark 


II 


It was still bitter cold, and Mr. Francis soon called 
the children to come and warm themselves. A num- 
ber of steep steps, enclosed by doors and a sliding 
top, led below, where another door opened on the 
cabin. This passage is called the companionway. 

‘‘You must come down backwards,” said Mr. 
Francis, “so you can hold on when the bark is in 
motion.” 

The cabin was a space about three yards square, 
with six sleeping rooms, a pantry, and a bath-room 
surrounding it. Each sleeping room contained two 
shelves, placed one above the other with an upright 
rim in front to hold fast a mattress and pillows; these 
are beds. There was also a washstand in the corner, 
a few pegs on the partition, and a stool in each room. 
They found Mrs. Francis in one of the rooms, busy 
unpacking night-dresses and sea clothes. 

The cabin was furnished with a stove, a table, 
some chairs, and a sofa, all screwed to the floor. 
Even the stovepipe had been fastened to the wall 
by wires. 

“Why do they screw everything fast. Father 
asked Halde. 

“So that the sea fairies cannot make them dance.” 

“How do sea fairies look .^” 

“They take the form of great waves, and their 
voices sound like the wind. Sometimes they make 
a terrible racket.” 


12 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

“Are they fond of dancing?” 

“Very! and not satisfied with dancing alone, they 
take chairs, dishes, passengers, the sailors, the vessel 
itself, for partners; and everything goes spinning 
about as if mad.” 

“How very jolly that must be! Tell me more 
about them.” 

“Come!” broke in Toys. “Let us look at the 
pantry, perhaps they have put our cakes there.” 

Here the shelves were divided into boxes, the size 
of the ware that was kept in them ; glasses and cups 
occupied holes in the shelves, jugs and mugs hung on 
hooks. 

“I do not think these will get much of a dance,” 
said Halde, looking around. 

“Nonsense, Halde ! There are no fairies either on 
land or on sea. Father was only joking, he meant the 
Waves. I wonder grown people say such foolish 
things to children!” 

“ Because we are little,” answered Halde, promptly ; 
“but little people have sense, too.” 

“I don’t think you have much,” replied Toys, 
teasingly. 

“Yes, I have; but when your own father tells you 
a thing, ought you not believe it ? ” 

Just then the captain was heard in the cabin. The 
boys ran out to meet him, and Toys was spared an 
answer. 



A Flock of Seagulls 





On the Bark 


13 


Captain Stout was a short, thick man, with a 
round face, which, through the extreme heat and 
cold of his route, had become a vivid red. His eyes 
were blue and his hair and beard white, so he jokingly 
said he carried the American colbrs on his person. 
The captain wore a fine suit of black cloth, polished 
shoes, and a high hat. He was speaking to a man 
about paying off the stevedores, for the lading had 
been finished. 

Behind him stood the pilot, tall and thin, with fur 
gloves, fur cap, and a large coat powdered over with 
frost. He bowed and said, “A cold night, sir,’’ to 
every one present, not excepting Mrs. Francis. 

‘‘When do we start she asked. 

“Just now, just now, just now!” answered the 
pilot, again bowing. Then, having warmed his 
hands, he rushed away. 

Loys and Halde were obliged to hide in the pantry 
to laugh at this funny man. While they were there 
the whistle of a steam tug was heard, and Mr. Francis 
called them to come on deck to see the vessel leave 
the wharf. 

And now the boys heard sea language for the first 
time. The cables attached to the wharf were cast 
off, sailors stood at various points in readiness, and 
the pilot on the upper deck shouted his orders: — 

“ Let her go ! Port there ! Port, can’t you hear 1 
There she goes! Bring a buffer, quick, a buffer! 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

Ease her ! Starboard a little ! Starboard, I say ! 
Ease her! Back her ! Let her go I Steady! Keep 
ste-a-a-a-dy ! ’’ 

Backward and forward tramped the pilot, now on 
this side, now on that, waving his hands and making 
signs like the leader of an orchestra. A man in the 
middle of the ship and another at the stern repeated 
the strange terms so that every one could hear them. 

The Potomac moved slowly from her moorings, 
not a bit affected by the hubbub on all sides. Pres- 
ently a yell of dismay arose. Notwithstanding their 
care, her yards had gotten entangled in the rigging of 
a schooner lying near by and were being torn from 
the vessel. 

What was noise before now became utter confusion. 
Every one talked, swore, and shouted. Tongues and 
legs ran races; finally brains and hands were put to 
work. Things went a little better, but it took time, 
and just as they were sheering off there was a crash 
on the other side. Some one exclaimed : “ By 

thunder ! There goes the cat-head smashed to bits.’’ 

Toys and Halde felt awfully sorry for the poor cat, 
until Mr. Francis told them that the cat-head is a 
short beam which projects from the side of a vessel, 
and to which the anchor is fastened when not in 
use. 

At last the bark was free. A small steam-tug 
puffed up, took the cable that had been flung to her, 


On the Bark 


15 

and started ofF, looking like an ant trying to carry 
away a loaf of bread. 

Captain Stout now appeared with his sea clothes 
on ; a rough coat much worn, a close-fitting cap, and 
a long meerschaum pipe. Having nothing to do 
while the pilot remained on board, he took his ease, 
chatted, and smoked. 

‘‘Well, we are off,’’ said Mr. Francis, as he saw him. 

“We might as well be lying at the wharf, for all the 
good it will do us.” 

“Why?” 

“I hear that the ice in the bay is shifting at every 
turn of the tide. The channel can’t be kept open, 
and nothing has left the capes for two days.” 

“A bad prospect !” 

“Yes, Baltimore can’t be depended on in winter. I 
have at times been fifteen days getting to sea from 
here. Now, at New York, you are out in a few 
hours.” 

“Fifteen days!” exclaimed Mrs. Francis, just 
coming up. “I expected to be in South America 
by that time.” 

The captain smiled. “That might happen, 
madam, but it’s not likely. Twenty-two or three 
days is a good run for a sailing vessel. I have done 
it in less, and I have done it in more.” 

“What has been the shortest passage you ever 
made ?” 


1 6 Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘"Thirteen days/’ 

“And the longest?” 

“Forty.” 

“Oh, my! I hope that will not be our fate.” 

The supper bell rang and they all went down. 
When they had eaten and returned, the Potomac 
was still picking her way among the shipping, 
guided by the little tug. 

The lights alongshore were coming out like stars, 
one by one, and other stars seemed moving over the 
black waters of the bay. The harbor lay far behind ; 
above, all was dark, as if the sky people had put out 
their fires and gone to bed. Sometimes a large ferry- 
boat filled with passengers came lumbering by, and 
in the distance a fleet of oyster smacks, drawn by a 
single tug, resembled a train of cars upon their 
winding track. These finally came near enough to 
hail, and the captain, curving his hands around his 
mouth, shouted: — 

“How is the ice down below ?” 

“Bad!” was the short reply. 

They soon found this to be true. A few miles 
farther the clear water ended. A roadway of broken 
ice could be seen on the line marked by the buoys, 
but all beyond had now the appearance of dim 
white fields. The plucky tug struggled along, fre- 
quently whistling to keep up her courage, but the 
blockade in front made it hard to get forward. 


On the Bark 


17 


About nine o’clock a fine snow began falling. 
The pilot could not make out the lighthouse signals, 
which direct the vessels in their course. A safe 
place was found, the order was given to drop anchor, 
a lantern was hung in the rigging, and the watch set, 
— that is, the men were posted who remain awake 
to see that nothing happens to the vessel while the 
others sleep. Then the tug returned to Baltimore, 
and every one except the watch went to bed. 

Halde had scarcely been laid in his when he began 
to complain : “ I want to go to Auntie. I do not 
like to sleep in a tray; it is too hard.” 

Toys thought Grandfather’s house much more com- 
fortable, and whispered, ‘‘Mother, let us go back to 
Bywater to-morrow.” 

They were soon asleep, however, and eager to 
dress and go on deck next morning when they heard 
the whistle of the tug, that had returned from Balti- 
more with a second tug to help it. Several vessels 
dropped down during the early hours, each pro- 
vided with a tug; and an ice-boat, its plough cased 
in iron, had been sent to open the channel. There 
was quite a fleet surrounding the Potomac. 

Presently the procession got into motion. The 
ice-boat went first, ploughing the great blocks right and 
left, sometimes mounting on a large cake, and break- 
ing through by its own weight, sometimes backing to 
rush with more force against an obstinate barrier, 
c 


1 8 Two Boys in the Tropics 

The vessels followed one by one in the path thus 
made, but the progress was slow. Occasionally, 
for a mile or two, they moved along quite easily in 
open water; again they would have to stand still. 
By night the company separated, each vessel seeking 
its own way. Some stopped, waiting for better 
weather; some tried the opposite side of the bay; 
none were in sight when the Potomac let go her anchor 
and the little tugs said good night. 

About twelve o’clock the boys were awakened by 
something grating on the side of the bark. 

“What is that. Father exclaimed Loys. 

“It is a heavy piece of lead on the end of a line, 
which they are dropping down to find the depth of the 
water. This is called sounding.” 

The boys were satisfied and went to sleep, but Mr. 
and Mrs. Francis passed an anxious night. At each 
sounding the water was more shallow, until the line 
showed a depth of only three feet of water below the 
keel. The shore was still two miles off, low, sandy, 
and without trees or houses for protection, the 
distance between being neither clear nor solid, but 
made up of masses of ice and open spaces which 
would render either walking or boating dangerous, 
should it become necessary to leave the vessel. 

Mr. Francis went on deck from time to time and 
always received the same discouraging answer to his 
questions. At last he came down, looking more 


On the Bark 


19 


cheerful, and said, ‘‘If we do not ground until 
the tide turns, we shall be safe/’ 

“When will that be?” asked his wife. 

“In about an hour. It is nearly at its height; the 
bark scarcely moves now.” 

One more visit on deck and Mr. Francis reported 
that the tide had begun to ebb, carrying the bark 
from the dangerous shore. With morning the tug 
returned. 

Orders were given to weigh anchor. The chain came 
up with a jerk. It had been snapped by the strain 
upon it, and the anchor was lost. This had caused 
the drifting of the Potomac during the night. For- 
tunately the vessel had been provided with two 
anchors, so the loss was not very great. 

They certainly had a narrow escape. The captain 
of the tug told that several vessels were aground in 
the lower part of the bay, and that an oyster boat 
had been found with its crew frozen to death. 

The work of the previous day recommenced. 
The little steamer puffed, struggled, and shrieked as 
before, slowly creeping forward, until twelve o’clock, 
when to the delight of all the way became gradually 
clear. A sailor was ordered to the masthead and 
reported that the channel was open as far as the 
eye could reach. The pilot decided to trust to his 
sails, and every one came on deck to bid the tug 
good-by. Mrs. Francis sent letters to Grandmother 


20 Two Boys in the Tropics 

and to Grandfather, in which the boys sent their love 
to all. 

The sun shone, the wind blew in the right direction, 
and the Potomac was soon bounding along with sails 
stretched. They passed Annapolis, where young 
men study to be officers of the navy, and reached the 
Potomac River, their vessel’s namesake, in time to 
anchor for the third night. They had so far made 
only seventy miles of their long journey. 

Morning showed that the incoming tide had once 
more surrounded the bark with ice. There was 
nothing to do but wait patiently six hours until the 
tide turned. 

Towards noon the water cleared in places. The 
captain and men got axes and pieces of board with 
which to open a space in front of the vessel so as to 
give her a fair start. After an hour of this work the 
order to “raise anchor” was heard. One by one 
the sails were set. The Potomac forced herself 
slowly onward. Sometimes she went, sometimes she 
stopped; then boards and axes were again brought 
into work. It was a tiresome day; night found them 
at the Rappahannock River, having covered but a 
distance of twenty miles when they anchored. 

The fifth day dawned with a strong wind which 
carried the ice to the other side of the bay. The 
pilot took advantage of this to raise anchor and crowd 
on sail, long before the boys were up. When they 


On the Bark 2i 

came on deck and saw the vessel rushing along, Loys 
cried out : — 

“ Captain ! shall we be at sea to-morrow, and may 
I fish?’’ 

‘‘I hope to be at sea, but whether you will want 
to fish, I can’t say.” 

‘‘Oh, yes ! of course. Mother, have you the hooks 
and lines where we can get them ?” 

“They will be ready when you need them. For 
my part, I wish the next few days were over.” 

By noon they passed York River; by five o’clock 
they reached Hampton Roads, where in 1862 the 
naval battle between the Monitor and Merrimac 
took place ; and three hours later they saw the light- 
houses of capes Charles and Henry, one on each 
side of the entrance to the bay. 

When they passed the capes, the flag was hoisted 
so that the name of the vessel could be reported at 
Baltimore. A schooner with a large 6 on its sail 
came bobbing towards them and put out a boat to 
carry off the pilot. He shook hands all around, 
wishing them a safe voyage, and adding, “A cold 
night, sir,” to every one present, as he had done 
when he came aboard. Then the mainsail was 
slackened, and the Potomac checked her speed to 
allow the boat to approach. 

Mrs. Francis had one more letter ready for By- 
water. The pilot put it into his pocket and slipped 


22 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

over the side of the bark into the little boat, his 
baggage being tossed after him. Away he went, 
rising and sinking with the waves, which each 
moment became larger. Captain Stout now took 
command, the orders in his big voice sounding twice 
as important as those of the thin pilot : — 

“Make ready! Man the starboard braces! 
Haul taut ! Let go the gafF topsail ! ’’ And soon 
the bark, as if recognizing her master, leaped swiftly 
forward. Every one was in a good humor; the 
sailors worked with a will. 

“Father,’’ asked Loys, “where does the pilot go ?” 

“He sails about in that schooner until a vessel 
arrives from a foreign port, then he goes aboard and 
shows her the way to Baltimore. It is his business 
to bring vessels safely up and down the bay.” 

“Did you ever sleep in a river’s mouth before.?” 
asked the captain, who liked to joke. “Were you 
not afraid it would shut ?” 

“The ice nearly shut it for us that night on the 
Potomac River,” said Mrs. Francis. 

“Almost,” agreed the captain. “Do you know 
what has its mouth at one end and its head at the 
other?” 

Father whispered, “A river,” and Halde was quite 
pleased to shout it out. 

“How soon shall we be in South America ? ” asked 
Mrs. Francis. 











;%'i:-'T^; 

< ► .‘ . •» « » 




A Bark 





1 



On the Bark 


23 


“We are just starting; the bay does not count in a 
sea voyage. We have still two thousand two hundred 
miles to go before we reach our port.’^ 

“This is the sea.f^” said Toys. 

“Yes!’’ 

“ I am so glad ! Halde, we can fish to-morrow.” 


CHAPTER III 


THE WIDE SEA 

‘‘fTTlHERE are at least two happy moments in 
I every sea voyage : one, when the pilot leaves 
the vessel, at the beginning of the journey; 
the other, when he boards her, at the end. The 
first shows that you are fairly off; the second, that 
the journey is nearly over,’’ remarked Mr. Francis, 
as the pilot-boat faded in the distance. 

“Don’t you think Captain Stout more sensible than 
that man ?” asked Toys. 

“Certainly!” 

“Then why does he have him here 

“Though a captain can manage a ship on the ocean, 
it would be difficult for him to know all the many 
coasts and harbors with their changing banks and 
channels. For this reason a set of men are paid in 
each port to go in small schooners to meet vessels 
near shore and bring them safely to land. When the 
vessels leave again, pilots guide them out to sea; 
and while one is on board he has entire charge. The 
word pilot means a leadsman, or person who throws 
the lead to find the depth of the water.” 


24 


The Wide Sea 


25 


Soon afterwards their father took the boys below. 
Mrs. Francis was already lying in her berth, as sea 
beds are called, looking very white and sick. The 
children had tea and laughed as the bark pitched or 
rolled; a strong north wind was blowing, and the 
captain said they were having a good send-off. Mr. 
Francis sat with one boy on each side of him to keep 
them from falling off the sofa. The dishes clattered, 
and the chairs went jumping about until they were 
tied to the table. 

‘‘The sea fairies are having a dance. Father.’’ 

“ Yes ; you had better go to bed before they ask you 
to join them.” 

“Let us go upstairs once more and see how it 
looks.” 

They could only get as far as the upper door of the 
companion way. The Potomac was running before 
the wind, followed by fierce dark waves that raced 
after her. The vessel pitched forwards and back- 
wards like a rocking-horse. Every few minutes 
her head plunged under, dipping a deck full of water, 
which, washing back, drenched the sailors, some- 
times knocking a few of them down. No one would 
believe how hard water is until they get a blow from 
it. At times the vessel received a tremendous sea 
on her side, which made her stagger in the other 
direction, the spray flying halfway to the topmast. 
Most of the sails had been taken in, and men in 


26 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

their yellow oilskin suits were aloft trying to furl the 
others. 

The splashing and breaking of the water, the 
shrieking of the wind, the shouting of orders, and the 
clatter of the men running to obey made such a 
noise that the boys were not able to hear each other 
speak; and the force of the wind against their faces 
was so great that they could only breathe in gasps. 

Captain Stout laughed as they returned to the 
cabin. ‘‘A little of that goes a great way, young men. 
It looks rather lumpy out there, doesn’t it ?” 

‘‘It looks hilly,” answered Loys. 

“Yes, diversified by mountains and valleys, as the 
geography says.” 

The boys had great trouble undressing; first one 
would tumble on the floor, then the other. In bed 
they fared no better. All their strength was needed 
to prevent themselves from falling out; until their 
father stuffed pillows along the front, which held them 
in place. 

They could hear the water gurgle and rush against 
the side of the ship, only a few inches from them. 
Then bump ! splash ! and a sound as if every wave 
in the big ocean was dashing over the deck. 

“Father,” called Halde, “I think we must be very 
deep down. Listen ! the sea is on top of us.” 

“No, no, my boy; try to sleep.” 

Presently there was a dull thud, a crash of splinter- 


The Wide Sea 


27 


ing wood and glass. The bark shivered, stopped a 
moment, then plunged forward as if shot from a 
cannon. Rivers of water poured in all directions. 
The skylight had been broken, and a great green 
wave tumbled through into the cabin, perhaps to 
wish Loys and Halde ‘‘Good night.” 

As the cabin was empty, no one got a wetting. 
Daniel, the black steward, came with a pail and a 
mop. The sailors began as quickly as possible to 
tack canvas over the opening. Before they had 
finished, another wave came seeking the first, and 
Daniel received the whole of it on his back; at which 
the boys were obliged to laugh, but not for long. 

The excitement was scarcely over when Loys 
cried out, “Father, I feel so sick, my supper 
wants to come up.” 

“So does mine,” said Halde. 

“Well, let it come !” 

The sea did not behave worse than their stomachs. 
A storm was going on inside of each, and waves of 
supper came rushing into the basin brought by Mr. 
Francis. They had not finished until poor Mother 
was sick also. Mr. Francis had a busy time; 
fortunately he kept well and was very kind, cheering 
everybody and telling them that they would soon be 
better. By and by, in spite of the racket, the boys 
slept. 

Some hours passed, when a greater noise than 


28 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

usual made the vessel tremble, and the family awoke 
to find the cabin again floating with water. The 
stove sputtered and steamed, giving off a gas which 
nearly choked them. 

While they were in this plight, a bold bit of ocean 
made a waterfall down the front steps. ‘‘Father!” 
screamed both boys. “The sea is coming in, what 
shall we do 

“Lie still! it cannot get you. The cover of the 
companionway has been washed off, but they are 
putting something over it to keep out the water.” 

Before this could be done, two more big waves 
came rolling into the cabin, spreading over the floor 
and splashing with every motion of the vessel, while 
a rumbling in the hold made the planks quiver. 

Finally the top of the steps was covered, the water 
ceased coming down, and Daniel began bailing again 
with a canvas bucket. Presently the mate looked in, 
and Mr. Francis asked what caused the noise in the 
hold. 

“A few barrels are loose, and they kick up consid- 
erable of a racket this rough weather,” was the reply. 

“Will they not break a hole, bumping against the 
side of the vessel ? ” 

“Hardly, sir. We are about to fasten them.” 

Daniel succeeded in getting the floor tolerably 
dry, but the fire had gone out and the cabin was 
damp and cold. Halde looked very miserable. “I 


The Wide Sea 


29 


want to go to Bywater; I don’t like the sea at all,” 
he remarked. 

“Father,” said Toys, putting his arm around 
Mr. Francis, “won’t you ask the captain to drop an- 
chor in the mouth of some river and stop a little, until 
it is less roily ?” 

“We have no rope long enough to find the bottom 
here; my boy, and the rivers are too far away.” 

Just then there was a blaze in the captain’s room. 
Mrs. Francis leaped from her berth and ran across the 
cabin, crying “Fire!” Mr. Francis also hurried 
over, and the captain, hearing the cry, rushed down 
the companionway as fast as his great bulk would 
allow. Mrs. Francis, meanwhile, had already 
smothered the flames with a pack of newspapers she 
had found. The captain, however, wishing to make 
sure, emptied a jug of water on the berth. It ap- 
pears he had thoughtlessly left a burning candle on a 
table by his bed, and a lurch of the vessel had thrown 
the light over. 

‘‘We are having a lively night,” he said, as he 
helped Mrs. Francis to her room. 

“Do you think the storm will soon be over. Cap- 
tain ?” she asked. 

“Well, you must expect a little more bad weather 
first. The Gulf Stream is still to pass, and until we 
are across it we will have rough sailing. 

“Now, young gentlemen,” he continued, stopping 


30 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

before the boys’ cabin, “you had better try to sleep or 
you won’t be ready to fish to-morrow.” 

Their father tucked them well into their berths, 
and as nothing now occurred they soon followed the 
captain’s advice. Mrs. Francis could not so easily 
forget her troubles and lay starting at every sound. 
Captain Stout turned in, but the mate often came to 
consult him, the wrinkles of his oilskin suit shedding 
water like gutters on a roof. Each hour the order 
was given to “pump ship,” for the straining of a vessel 
in heavy weather causes her to leak; but the pumps 
brought up very little water. 

Next morning when the children awoke they 
thought it must be yet night. The skylight and 
doors leading on deck were covered with canvas, 
so that neither light, air, nor water could enter. 
The fire had been kindled anew, and the little cabin 
felt stifling. The bark tossed frightfully, the port- 
holes, as the round windows in a ship’s side are 
called, were constantly under the waves, and the sea 
still washed the deck. 

Their father told them to remain in bed, and they 
gladly obeyed, for the dreadful nausea in their 
stomachs became worse whenever they raised their 
heads. 

Breakfast came, but neither Mother nor the boys 
could look at it. Mr. Francis and Captain Stout 
had the table to themselves, though it was difficult 


The Wide Sea 


31 


to sit there. Bars of wood had been put upon it 
crosswise, to keep the dishes in place; and even this 
did not prevent several plates from jumping off. 
The colFee spilt, the spoons and knives jingled, and 
once Mr. Francis’ chair slid to the opposite wall, 
where it bumped with such force as to knock him on 
the floor. 

The captain, before leaving the cabin, asked Toys 
if he would like to fish ; but the poor boy was feeling 
too badly to answer. 

At dinner it was still worse; no one tried to sit at 
table, but each person held his plate in his lap. A 
wave emptied itself into the soup as the steward 
brought it from the galley, making it unfit to eat. 
The cook had trouble to keep anything on his stove, 
and a roast fowl was the only dish not half raw. 
However, the boys began to feel better and were 
able to drink a little thih arrowroot and take a bit 
of dried beef which the captain recommended; but 
poor Mother could only lie with her eyes shut, waiting 
for calmer weather. 

‘‘How about the Gulf Stream now.f*” she asked, 
as the captain passed her cabin on his way to the 
deck. 

“We are about in it. The wind being against the 
current makes it jagged sailing.” 

“When will we be out 

“Early to-morrow morning, if nothing happens.” 


CHAPTER IV 


THE GULF STREAM 

W HAT is the Gulf Stream, Father asked 
Toys. 

‘‘It is a current of warm water that 
comes from the Equator, through the Caribbean Sea 
to the Gulf of Mexico, thence northeast along the 
coast of the United States, where we are now crossing 
it. The Gulf Stream takes its name from the Gulf 
of Mexico, and is called a stream because it runs 
through the ocean like a river, always flowing in 
the same direction.” 

“If it is like a river, we might anchor in its mouth,” 
remarked Toys. 

“ That we can’t do. The Gulf Stream has no mouth, 
but loses itself in the Northern Sea; though a part of 
it returns down the west coast of Europe and Africa 
to the Equator. Would you like to see it ?” 

“Yes!” said Toys, but Halde thought he would 
rather lie still. 

Mr. Francis wrapped Toys in a shawl and helped 
him to the top of the companionway, where he could 
look through a hole left in the canvas. 


32 


The Gulf Stream 


33 


What a wonderful sight ! As each heavy blue- 
black wave touched the freezing air, a steaming mist 
arose which formed into fantastic, ever changing 
clouds, breaking and rolling in fringes, edges, and 
bulky masses. The sea and sky turned in constant 
motion, the foam heaving upward, the clouds dipping 
down. Wandering snowflakes appeared and dis- 
appeared; and once, as the mist parted, a giant 
waterspout crossed the distance, and whirling nearer, 
burst with a loud report close to the vessel. 

‘‘ It looks as if the water is too thick for us to get 
through. Do you think we will stick fast.?’’ asked 
Toys, as he drew back his head from the opening. 

‘‘No, my boy, though it is hard work to get forward. 
Now you can see what running against the current 
means.” 

Toys had so much to tell when he came back that 
Halde concluded to have a peep also, but the scene 
was so wild and strange that he did not care to re- 
main long. 

“Oh, Mother!” said he, on returning, “we are 
sailing through boiling water, the steam is all around 
us, and the poor little snowflakes can’t get down.” 

“Not boiling, only warm,” explained his father. 

‘^What makes it so warm.?” asked Loys. 

“The great heat of the tropics. The water you 
see here has come past British Guiana, the country 
to which we are going.” 


34 


Two Boys in the Tropics 


‘‘Why doesn’t it get cold ?” 

“A large body of hot water can keep warm for a 
long time, even when running through cold water. 
As it flows north it loses some heat, but at the same 
time it is always getting a new supply at the Equator.” 

“What makes it run through the other water.?” 

“Various things: the wind, the tides, the heat and 
cold, the earth turning around, the shape of the 
land. There are many currents in the ocean besides 
the Gulf Stream, some of which reach a speed of 
eighty miles a day. Even brooks and rivers have 
their currents and eddies, places where the water 
flows faster or slower.” 

“ Halde, did you see a waterspout when you were 
up.?” Loys asked his brother. 

“No.” 

“That is a pity. It looks as if a wave had reared 
up on its hind legs to touch the clouds.” 

“A wave has no legs.” 

“Well, it stood itself up endways and whirled 
around till it broke in two.” 

“Is that true. Father.? How could it.?” 

“There are currents in the air as well as in the sea. 
These, when blowing in opposite directions, form 
circular winds, which draw clouds and the water into 
a whirling mass, and make waterspouts. In the 
deserts huge columns of sand are drawn up in the 
same way.” 


The Gulf Stream 


35 


It was a dreary day in the close, dark cabin. When 
tired talking, the boys read the books that Auntie 
had put into their box. They slept a great deal, and 
when the lamps were lighted early in the evening they 
went on a visit to Mother, who was better and able 
to take a cup of tea. She gave each an apple, which 
tasted better than ever before and which reminded 
them of Bywater, the orchard there, dear Grandfather 
and Grandmother, Auntie and their uncles, the past 
summer, and all their games. 

After eating, they sang “Yankee Doodle/’ beating 
time on the partition; then made funny shadows on 
the wall by knotting their handkerchiefs into queer 
shapes of men and women that danced, bowed, and 
fought with each other as the boys moved their 
fingers before the light. Merry laughter filled the 
cabin, and the wild outside was forgotten. Mother, 
alone, had tears in her eyes. 

Being now more accustomed to the motion, they 
passed a better night. By morning the Gulf Stream, 
which is from one hundred and twenty to one hundred 
and thirty miles wide at this point, had been left 
behind. The wind shifted to southwest. Though 
it was still blowing hard, the vessel went more steadily, 
and the children wakened with the sun shining on 
them through the open skylight. 

“Hurrah, Captain ! Can we go on deck called 
out Toys. 


36 Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘"The waves still splash over it sometimes, but by 
noon I think it will be safe to come up.” 

“Do you feel like eating breakfast this morning 
asked their father. 

“Oh, yes!” answered both together. 

“Then dress and come quickly.” 

What a difference between yesterday and to-day I 
What appetites I Even Mother was able to take some- 
thing. These sudden changes make much of the 
charm of travelling by sea. 

After breakfast the boys got out some toys and 
puzzles, and by sitting on the floor with their backs to 
the partition they amused themselves without fear 
of falling. Some wagons and horses chased each 
other across the cabin as the bark rolled, which 
pleased Halde very much ; but the block houses would 
not stand up and a whole company of soldiers 
went over before the enemy could be put opposite. 

“I think at this rate we shall make a good passage, 
after all,” said Mrs. Francis, as the captain stopped 
at her door on one of his trips up and down. 

“At this rate we will not get there at all I” 

“How so 

“We are not on our course.” 

“Why do you not go on it 

“The wind won’t let me.” 

Toys asked what the course of a vessel meant. 

Mr. Francis got one of the captain’s maps and laid 


The Gulf Stream 


37 


it on the table. ‘^Our course means the road we 
must take to go to British Guiana/’ he explained. 

“There are no roads on the ocean,” objected Halde. 

“There were none on the land, either, until they 
were made by man.” 

“Yes, but no one could make a road on the sea.” 

‘‘Why not .?” 

“Because the marks would wash away.” 

“Suppose you put the marks where they cannot 
wash away.f*” 

“Where.? How?” 

Their father pointed to the table. 

“Do you mean on a map .?” 

“Certainly !” 

“I did not know that maps were to show the way to 
places. I thought they were just to learn geography 
at school.” 

Mr. Francis laughed. “At Bywater if some one 
would ask how to go to the next town, you would 
say, ‘Cross the bridge at the creek, keep straight on 
till you come to a large buttonwood tree, then turn 
to the right.’ With greater distances it is the same. 
If you wish to direct a person, you must have a point 
to start from and something to mark the way. You 
could not take our creek as a place to start from, 
for few people know where it is.” 

“Even the captain has never been to Bywater,” 
remarked Halde. 


38 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

“Just so, and in directing the whole world you 
want a place that the whole world will know. So 
the middle of the earth, or the Equator, has been 
taken to count from in going north and south.’’ 

“That is a good idea,” agreed Loys. 

“But in going east and west there is no Equator, 
and various nations have taken their principal city 
to start from. By and by, perhaps, all may accept 
Greenwich in England as the starting-point. Now look 
at the map. See these lines running up and down 
and across; they are the marks to show the way.” 

“I do not understand how they can guide you,” 
said Loys, wrinkling his forehead over the left eye 
and looking hard at the map. 

“I will try to explain. The lines across mark 
breadth or latitude; the lines up and down, length 
or longitude. The spaces between are called degrees 
and measure about sixty miles. Each is numbered; 
and any place can be shown by the numbers of the 
two lines that meet there.” 

“Could you tell where the bark now is?” 

“I cannot; but the captain can, otherwise we would 
soon lose our way.” 

“You said you would show us our road on the 
map.” 

“As I have often told you, we are going to a 
country called British Guiana, on the upper part 
of South America.” 


The Gulf Stream 


39 

^'Here it is/’ said Loys, putting his finger upon the 
name. 

‘‘ Right ! To get there, our course, or road through 
the ocean, should be southeast. South to make 
latitude or the distance down, east to make longitude 
or the distance across. Baltimore is in about thirty- 
nine degrees north latitude, that is, north from the 
Equator. Georgetown, the capital of British Guiana, 
is in six. Six from thirty-nine leaves thirty-three 
degrees, or spaces we have to go; and if each space 
counts sixty miles, it makes one thousand one hun- 
dred and eighty miles in sailing down. 

‘‘But we must go across also, for Baltimore is in 
seventy-seven of longitude, and Georgetown a little 
beyond sixty, the difference being seventeen degrees, 
or one thousand and twenty miles. If we go straight 
east, then south, the distance will be three thousand 
miles; but by taking a southeast direction, this 
corner is cut off and the journey shortened eight hun- 
dred miles. Just now the wind is driving us east and 
not south, but I hope it will soon change in our favor.” 

After dinner Mr. Francis helped his wife and the 
boys on deck. They were well wrapped in shawls 
and sat in chairs tied fast to the booby hatch. The 
bark leaned on the lea side, almost to the water. 
At times the waves hissed and foamed over the deck’s 
edge, but could not reach them. The south wind 
was much warmer than the north had been; and it 


40 


Two Boys in the Tropics 


was pleasant, after eight days, to be able to remain 
in the open air, even though they could not move 
about. 

‘‘In a short time you will not need your overcoats,’’ 
said Mother. 

“Provided the wind changes,” added the captain. 


s> 


CHAPTER V 


FINE WEATHER 

T he wind continued in the. same direction for 
five days. They not only made all their longi- 
tude, but a hundred miles more than was 
needed; however, the captain said this might be 
useful, as they would probably meet east winds 
farther south. The vessel passed north of the Ber- 
muda Islands, instead of west, and was nearly as 
distant from British Guiana after being out two 
weeks as when she started. 

This was not very satisfactory; but the boys were 
no longer seasick and began to enjoy the voyage 
thoroughly. An awning of sail-cloth was stretched 
over the deck, where they could have their chairs, 
toys, and books. They had picnics with the cakes, 
nuts, and candies from Auntie’s box. Oranges, 
lemons, and ice were on board, and Daniel made 
lemonade. The captain also brought some little 
surprises: one day a bottle of prunes, another day 
some maple sugar. 

At last the wind changed, and the Potomac turned 
her prow exactly south. Each morning the cold 
41 


42 


Two Boys in the Tropics 


grew less; pillows and rugs were brought up to rest 
upon in the afternoon, and except for a few hours at 
night, every one lived in the open air. They were 
rapidly approaching the tropics, that part of the 
world lying on each side of the Equator, where it is 
always warm. 

As soon as the vessel was steady enough for them 
to keep their feet, Mr. Francis invited the children 
for a walk. A strong bulwark, or rail around the 
deck, prevented any one from falling off. First 
they scrambled over a number of closely packed 
boxes that formed the deck load. Here the mate 
sat mending a sail with a needle so large that it 
carried strong twine for thread. His thimble was 
a rough piece of steel the size of a cent, fastened in a 
band of leather fitting around the hand like a mitten ; 
so that this queer-shaped thimble lay in the palm 
and could be pushed against the big needle with the 
whole force of the arm. 

The second mate (there are always two mates, 
and sometimes more, to assist the captain in sailing 
and keeping order) was splicing or joining ropes by 
weaving the two ends together for about half a yard, 
and greasing the parts with tar oil to make them bend 
easily. 

Upon the rigging could be seen sailprs holding 
fast with their legs while their hands were busy, 
others perched like birds on the yards, and two sat 


Fine Weather 


43 

in stirrup-shaped seats hanging to the masts, which 
they were scraping. 

The boys passed the large hatchway through which 
the cargo had been stored. It was now made fast 
by a heavy wooden cover stuffed around with tow. 
Next came the galley; this is the sea name for a 
kitchen. The black cook was picking a fat hen for 
soup and Mr. Francis asked him if he had been long 
at sea. 

‘‘Fourteen years, sir,” 

“I should not like to remain such a time as that,” 
said Toys. 

“I do not like it myself,” replied the cook. 

“Then why do you stay .?” 

“Because my pay is forty dollars a month. Ah, 
young gentleman ! you will find by and by that in 
this world people don’t do what they like, but what 
they must.” 

“I will do what I like as soon as I am a man,” 
answered Loys. 

“Perhaps,” returned cook, doubtfully. “Now, I 
suppose you did not want to be sick the night of the 
storm, yet you were.” 

“That is because we are at sea.” 

“The land is still worse. Just the last time we 
were in port our mate was knocked down by an ice 
wagon and killed. The land is far worse than the 
sea,” concluded the old fellow, shaking his head. 


44 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

The children were amused to see the kettles and 
pans fastened with wires to keep them on the stove, 
and a colFee-pot built like a tower to prevent the water 
from splashing out when the vessel rolled. A ship 
teaches neatness and order, for nothing can be left 
lying about. 

They then visited the forecastle, the place where 
the sailors sleep. Here a little black pig and a cat 
were eating out of the same dish. A boy, who was 
twisting some spun yarn into a strong cord, asked 
Toys what he thought of the storm. 

‘Ht was very bad. I hope there will be no more 
rough weather!^’ 

‘‘So do I,’’ added Halde. 

“You got a little sea down below, but up here we 
had the whole ocean over us. Me an’ the pig an’ 
the cat was nearly drowned. They put the pig an’ 
the cat into the booby hatch to keep ’em from washin’ 
overboard. After a while I crept in too, an’ shoved 
the door shut from inside. No one knowed I was 
there. By an’ by a wave broke the top an’ filled the 
hatch with water. 

“There was the three of us, scratchin,’ bawlin,’ an’ 
tryin’ to get out. No use. We was a’most dead, 
when at last mate thought of the pig an’ opened the 
cover. When he seen me with the rest, he says I 
might go to the forecastle, an’ it did not take me long 
to git there. Jest as I turned in an’ was about to 


Fine Weather 


45 


sleep there was a bounce on the floor, an’ I seen some- 
thing with fiery eyes makin’ right for me. I yelled 
with all my might. Cook, who sleeps next, in the 
galley, shouted, ‘What’s the matter.?’ 

“‘The devil is after me!’ I says. 

“‘Don’t put on airs,’ says he; ‘the devil don’t 
drag the sea for such fish as you.’ 

“‘Do, cook, come an’ save me!’ I blubbered. 

“Cook poked his head in the door, an’ lookin’ 
round, says, ‘You fool, it’s the cat.’ 

“Sure enough, some one had brought in the cat 
an’ the pig, an’ wasn’t I glad to have them for com- 
pany ! ” 

Loys and Halde laughed. Mr. Francis asked the 
boy’s name, which he said was Bill, and he also told 
them that this was his first trip to sea. They then 
went on to the prow, or front part of the vessel. 

Here Mr. Francis showed them a lady carved in 
wood with a gilt wreath on her head and smiling 
pleasantly in spite of being forever splashed by the 
waves. Here, too, they saw the anchor chain coiled 
up like a sea-serpent, and the cat-head that had been 
smashed at Baltimore. A few steps farther on stood 
the capstan, that is used to hoist the anchor, to shift 
the yards, and draw the vessel alongside the wharf. 
From the prow projected the bowsprit, and beyond 
it the jib-boom, where the three-cornered or jib sails 
are attached. 


46 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

On returning they stopped to look at some fine 
white geese in a tub. These the mate was taking 
to sell on his own account. There stood also a coop 
of fowls, rare breeds that the captain had bought 
for planters who wished to raise these varieties on 
their estates in British Guiana. 

When the boys again passed Bill, the young sailor, he 
asked them if they had seen what kind of sheets were 
used on deck. As both answered “No,’’ he pointed 
to some ropes running at the back of each sail. 

“How can a rope be a sheet ?” asked Loys. 

“That is a sea sheet.” 

“I don’t believe you! Is it. Father.?” 

“Yes, it is so called,” replied Mr. Francis. ‘‘A 
sheet means anything spread out or flat. We say 
a sheet of paper, a sheet of water, a sheet of tin or 
wax, as well as a sheet of linen or cotton for our beds. 
Although these ropes are not flat, their use is to extend 
or flatten the sails. Some ropes are halyards, be- 
cause they haul up the sails; some are braces, as 
they brace or hold in place the yards; these are 
sheets, or you might say spreaders, as they spread the 
sails. It is necessary that each set of ropes have 
a name so that the sailors when they hear an order 
may know which to seize.” 

“Father, I would like you to show me the booby 
hatch where the boy and the little pig were hidden 
that night.” 


Fine Weather 


47 


“It is the one near the cabin where your mother is 
sitting.” 

“Why is it called the booby hatch 

“The booby is a stupid sea-bird, and perhaps 
sailors think this a stupid hatch because its boxlike 
cover is only for ornament, the real hatch being 
underneath.” 

By next day the boys could do without their over- 
coats. The Potomac made from one to two hundred 
miles each twenty-four hours. Mrs. Francis began 
to count the time it would require to reach George- 
town. Captain Stout said she had better allow 
a week for accidents. 

“We are not through the horse latitudes yet.” 

“What are the horse latitudes ?” 

“They vary in winter and summer. I have found 
them anywhere between the 23d and 32d degrees.” 

“What an odd name!” 

“ Long ago, when the West India Islands were first 
settled, a cargo of horses was sent from New England 
to the Bahamas. The ship met with a long calm in 
these latitudes, the fresh water gave out, and all 
of the horses died. That is the origin of the name. 
In the geography they are called the Calms of Cancer.” 

“Do you think it is likely we will get into a calm 
on this trip .?” 

“Very likely; but at this season of the year it will 
not last long.” 


48 Two Boys in the Tropics 

“It appears to me that everything is uncertain at 
sea.” 

“Yes, but as long as dinner is regular, it doesn’t 
much matter.” 

It happened as Captain Stout had predicted. 
After a time the vessel began to go slower. Many 
sails were taken down as useless. The children 
could move without fear of falling. With the 
warmer weather, an even-going vessel, plenty to eat, 
and a sea appetite, nothing was left to desire; es- 
pecially for the boys, when the mate came one morn- 
ing and said: — 

“Now is the time to fish !” 


CHAPTER VI 


FISHING 

T he boys were some time getting their fishing 
tackle together, and then Toys asked the 
question, ‘‘ What shall we take for bait ?” 
“Worms,’’ answered Halde, promptly. 

“Where can we find any ?” 

“There are plenty near the creek.” 

“Yes, at Bywater; you had better go for some.” 
Halde had forgotten for the moment how far they 
were from home. Presently he tried again: “Some 
people use little fish for bait. There must be plenty 
in the ocean.” 

“Yes, but we must have something to begin with; 
fish will not bite a bare hook.” 

Captain Stout suggested that they should ask the 
cook for a bit of pork. This w^as fastened on the 
hooks, and the lines were dropped, first on one side 
of the bark, then on the other. 

“We caught more bass at Bywater in half an hour 
than we can catch fish here in a whole day!” ex- 
claimed Loys, at last, looking at the big ocean with 
disgust. 

“Perhaps it is the fault of the fishermen,” said his 
mother. 


49 


50 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

Just then there was a tug at Halde’s hook, and he 
called: “Loysie, come and help me. Hurry! It 
feels so heavy, it must be a whale.’^ 

Both pulled with all their might, and suddenly 
up came the line, bringing with it a great bunch of 
pale brown seaweed covered with yellow berries. 

‘‘We must be near land,” remarked Toys, as he 
saw it. “Columbus found things floating when he 
came near land.” 

“This is not a land plant,” returned Mr. Francis. 
“Its home is here; it grows upon the waves and 
thrives among the storms. Look at the masses 
floating in all directions like fields of grass on the 
blue water.” 

“Oh, how pretty I Let us catch more of it.” 

This was not an easy task. Even when the sea- 
weed came near enough, a lurch of the vessel would 
cause them to miss their aim. The hooks also were 
too small, but Mrs. Francis made larger ones by 
bending some of her hairpins into shape, and these 
the boys fastened to their lines. The sport became 
very exciting; practice made them more skillful, 
and in an hour they harvested quite a quantity of 
the plant, which Halde said would serve his tin 
horses for hay. Among its slender leaves were found 
tiny crabs and shells that here spent their lives on 
one continued sea voyage. 

Later the mate passed with a wooden box about a 


51 


Fishing 

foot long. In it was a reel, a long cord, and a stout 
hook. ‘‘Now we will see who catches the first fish,^’ 
said he. 

The children ran after him to the stern, where the 
man stands to steer. Here the mate placed his box 
on the rail, baited the hook, and threw the line into 
the water. 

“We need not remain to watch it,’’ he explained; 
“when anything jerks the hook, the spring will snap 
and let out the line with a whirring sound.” 

The boys, however, watched it for some time, but 
it was not until they had gone away and quite for- 
gotten the rival line that the reel began whizzing like 
a watchman’s rattle and the cord could be seen 
paying out rapidly. 

In a moment the mate, Mr. Francis, and the 
children were at the stern. Every eye watched as the 
line was carefully drawn in. A gray object came 
nearer and nearer the vessel. 

“There! Look! Look!” cried Loys; and what 
do you think it was ? One of the sailors’ flannel 
shirts had blown from the forecastle, and the current 
made by the vessel carried it against the hook on 
which it was caught. A hearty laugh went up at the 
mate’s fish, but it is needless to say that the sailor 
to whom the shirt belonged was pleased. 

By the time the hook was again set, eight bells 
sounded, and with it the dinner bell. They had 


52 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

leisurely finished eating and the mate was still busy 
with a large piece of salt beef when whiz went the 
reel. 

Cries of ‘‘A fish ! a fish !” were heard. The man 
at the wheel forgot to steer, and the captain shouted, 
“Keep her full All started on a race to the stern, 
and this time it was easy to see that something alive 
must be at the end of the line. 

“It is a dolphin,” said the mate. 

You could see it rushing away, the hook fast in 
its gill, and a streak of blood following, red through 
the blue water. The mate paid out line until the 
fish seemed exhausted, then he began drawing in, 
hand over hand; but such was the strength and 
activity of the big fellow that he had to be given the 
line again and again. At last, wild and struggling, 
he was brought under the rail, where the mate, 
seizing the grains, pierced his side and drew him on 
deck. The grains are a harpoon with three iron 
points placed on a ring at the end of a long handle. 
A rope is attached to the handle so that the grains 
can be drawn back after a throw. 

The boys were still examining the fish when the 
man at the wheel called out, “Look ! look !” 

There, splashing, leaping, and playing around the 
vessel was a large school of what the mate called 
dolphins, cutting the clear water in every direction. 
As they rose and sank their color seemed to change 


53 


Fishing 

from light to dark blue, to green, and, where the sun 
shone upon them, to gold. Every one who could get 
a line now tried his luck. 

A bit of white rag tied to the hook and dangled 
above the water was sufficient to make the fish snap. 
No one stopped to use the grains or to pay out line, 
as it made no difference if a few fish were lost. One 
after another was dragged on deck. The mate let 
Toys and Halde have a turn, and two of the largest 
fish ran at their hooks to swallow them. Mr. Francis 
helped to draw them up. Loys got his safely landed, 
but Halde’s dropped off when near the rail and 
would not bite again. Even Mother, who came to 
see the fun, caught one. 

In a quarter of an hour twelve fish, weighing from 
ten to twenty pounds each, lay gasping and flapping 
on deck, their bright colors fading from blue to yellow 
and to green as they died; and still others in the 
water below were crowding to swallow the hooks. 
But the captain said it would be a pity to catch more, 
as they could not be eaten. 

A couple of sailors now came to carry the fish to the 
galley, where the mate, who knew how to do a little 
of everything, hung them up in turn, stripped off 
their thick skins and cut away the backbones and 
fins, when there remained large pieces of flesh for 
the cook to fry. 

That night they had a grand supper. The cap- 


54 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

tain preferred the bones made into chowder. The 
sailors ate heartily of whatever was given them, and 
even the cat enjoyed a bit; but the little pig refused 
to have anything to do with the feast. 

Mr. Francis told the boys that the fishes they had 
caught, and which change into such beautiful colors 
when dying, were not dolphins, but coryphaena. The 
real dolphins are not fish, but a sea animal like the 
whale and porpoise; none are found in this part of 
the Atlantic. 

On the day following their lively time with the fish, 
Mr. Francis took Toys and Halde to the stern and 
showed them the compass. 

In a round, flat box covered by glass they saw a 
card of mica marked with thirty-two black points 
forming a star. At each of the four principal points 
was a letter, except at the north, which was marked 
by an arrow-head. S stood for south, E for east, 
W for west. The points between had two or three 
letters, meaning northeast, northeast by east, and 
so on for every direction. This card lay on an up- 
right pivot in the centre of the box. The tip of the 
pivot and the little cup in the middle of the card upon 
which it rested were of agate. 

As the waves pushed the vessel now here, now 
there, the card quivered and moved, but always 
stopped with the point marked by the arrow turned 
towards the north. 


55 


Fishing 

The boys watched it for a while ; then Loys, stoop- 
ing down in order to look under the box, said, “I 
would like to see the machinery that moves the card/’ 
There is nothing underneath, except four thin 
rods of steel, the size of knitting needles, which are 
fastened to the card.” 

‘‘And is there no spring to make it go 

“It requires no spring, no machinery; yet it works 
night and day, year by year, always watching, always 
pointing, as if it were saying to the man at the helm, 
‘Go where you will, this is north, this is north 

“But, Father, what makes it always turn towards 
the north ?” 

“Do you remember the Story of the Third Calendar 
in the Arabian Nights, and the Black Mountain that 
attracted the iron nails from the ship 

“Are we near the Black Mountain,” exclaimed 
Loys, looking out at sea, “and does it draw the 
compass 

“Will the nails fly out of the ship V' asked Halde, 
peering into the distance. 

“Is there truly a black mountain. Father ? I can 
see nothing. Are you joking ?” 

“The Black Mountain does not exist, but the 
power which made men believe in such a mountain 
is real. The earth acts like a huge magnet, and its 
two ends, or poles, attract the steel rods of the com- 
pass and keep them always pointing north.” 


CHAPTER VII 


A CALM 

A nd now the wind appeared to leave the vessel, 
or rather, the vessel, having passed the winds 
which blow in northern latitudes, had not 
reached those of the tropics. This is called a zone 
or belt of calms. 

The mainsail flapped and the boom of the spanker 
creaked as the Potomac rolled lazily from side to side 
instead of going forward. The man at the helm 
went about other work, it being useless to steer. 
The sea looked as if the top alone was liquid, run- 
ning over some solid thing beneath. The level 
distance resembled a ploughed field, the watery fur- 
rows of which sparkled in the hot sun. Sometimes 
a long swell would pass by without breaking the 
surface; not a wave could be seen. 

Mrs. Francis, who had never ceased counting 
the days since the pilot left, was much disappointed. 
“Do you think this will be a long calm. Captain V* 
she asked one day. 

“It may be long and it may be short; I have seen 


A Calm 


57 


“You are very discouraging.” 

“Oh, no; just take your choice.” 

“I may take my choice, but I will not get it.” 

“It is like betting on a horse race.” 

“That reminds me. When do we come to the 
horse latitudes?” 

“We are nearly through them; one good day’s 
run would put us out.” 

“Why do calms happen just here ?” 

“This is not the only place they are found. The 
South Atlantic, the Pacific Ocean, and both sides of 
the Equator have also their calms. I have had a 
vessel lie for three weeks in the Gulf of Mexico 
without being able to move a single knot.” 

“A knot?” repeated Mrs. Francis. 

“A knot is our sea word for a mile. It is two 
hundred and forty yards longer than a land mile. 
Sailors are so accustomed to use a line with a knot 
tied in it for measuring that I suppose the name has 
arisen from this practice.” 

“I hope we will not remain here three weeks.” 

“The trade winds are not far off, and we may 
get into them before long,” returned the captain, 
looking as if he were not at all certain. 

“What are the trade winds ?” 

“Winds that blow in this part of the world from 
northeast to southwest pretty much the whole 
year. I have read that the word trade means a 


58 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

trodden way, or way that is constantly followed. 
So, as this wind always blows in the same direction, 
it is called a trade wind. We are near the Tropic 
of Cancer.’’ 

“Do clouds make the wind asked Loys. 

“The wind sometimes makes the clouds,” answered 
the captain. 

‘‘What makes the wind ?” 

“When you take a glass of water out of a bucket- 
ful, is there a hole left in the water 

“Of course not. The rest of the water runs in 
and fills the place.” 

“So it is with the air. The heat of the sun at the 
Equator makes the air hot, and it rises. The cold 
air from the North and South poles then rushes in 
and a wind, or air current, is formed. All winds 
are made in the same way. One place being hotter 
than another causes the air to rise, and the spot must 
be filled by the cold air surrounding it. Do you like 
stories 

“Oh, yes !” answered both boys, at the same time. 
“Will you tell us one 

They seated themselves on each side of the cap- 
tain, who began : — 

“We old sea bears meet with many strange things 
in our travels, and the story I am going to tell you is 
about a giant.” 

“Did you see him yourself.?” asked Halde. 


A Calm 


59 


“No one can see him; he is always invisible/’ 

“How do you know where he is ?” 

“By what he does. First of all, he has the power 
of making himself large and small at will. He can 
fill the whole space from sea to sky, and he is able to 
enter a room through the keyhole. 

“As to his disposition, it changes with his size. 
When small, he is so gentle and friendly that a child 
need not be afraid to dance in his way, or the lightest 
butterfly may touch him without hurt; but he seems 
to get fiercer as he grows bigger. I have seen him, 
though he has no hands, lift up the heaviest man 
from deck and throw him overboard, or break one 
of these thick masts as you would a stick. He can 
make this flat, lazy sea toss and leap like wild horses, 
and pile up waves forty feet high. Sailors don’t 
want him about, I can tell you. Why, sometimes, 
when angry, he will upset a vessel quicker than 
cook could turn over a saucepan.” 

“He is a wicked giant!” exclaimed Halde. 

“Where does he live?” inquired Loys. 

“No place in particular, he is always traveling; 
and that reminds me. When small, he seems lazy 
and does not care how soon he gets to a place, but 
when large, he goes as if the only thing worth having 
in the world was speed. Yet he has no feet.” 

“No feet?” repeated Halde. 

“Neither hands nor feet. He has only a body. 


6o 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

and strength, and a voice. And what a voice ! 
It grows large and small when he does. Sometimes 
you would think it a baby laughing; at other times 
the sound is big enough to make the man in the 
moon hold his ears.’’ 

‘‘How can he do things without hands and feet ?” 
asked Halde, who was not much interested in the 
voice. 

“Well, you see, this giant seems only made for 
going, and limbs would be in the way. His feet 
could never keep up with him, and his arms would 
be jerked out after the first five minutes. He can 
go a hundred miles an hour.” 

“A hundred miles 

“Yes, indeed. Once I found myself in his track 
when he was moving about sixty miles an hour. 
Such a sea as he kicked up ! I say kicked because 
he made the water fly. One touch would send a 
wave twice higher than the mast. You could not 
tell if it were night or day; the spray was so dense it 
hid the sun, and the air was all water. 

“We had ropes stretched over the deck, and the 
sailors had to creep along and hold fast to prevent 
themselves from being carried off. Two men were 
tied to the wheel in order to keep the bark on her 
course. Mr. Giant jumped on their backs and tried 
to push them away and wreck the vessel. 

“He threw down one of the sailors with such force 


A Calm 


6i 


that the man’s leg was broken. Then off he rushed, 
shrieking through the rigging. The cables sounded 
like enormous fiddle-strings all scraping a different 
tune. It was frightful ! 

“ I wish you could have seen us after he had passed ; 
our canvas was tattered like a beggar’s rags. Many 
a good ship went down before the giant that day, 
but we got safely through.” 

‘‘I hope he won’t be coming around while we are 
here,” remarked Halde. 

‘^His time for these latitudes is between the middle 
of August and the middle of October, though he has 
been met here every month in the year.” 

“You see, Father, there are giants in the world,” 
said Loys, “the captain has heard and felt one. 
Only it is a pity he could not have seen him.” 

“I think he had quite enough without seeing him.” 

“Then you believe it.?” 

“I believe he heard and felt something; but the 
question is, was it a giant or a hurricane. Do you 
remember the storm in the Gulf Stream .?” 

“We certainly do!” answered Halde. “Poor 
Bill and the pig got an awful wetting.” 

“What made the waves so high .?” 

“The wind.” 

“And now ask Captain Stout the name of his 
giant.” 

“Of course he means the wind,” cried Loys. 
“Don’t you. Captain.?” 


62 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘You are right. There are real things in the world 
more wonderful than in any story book, and the 
wind is one of them.’’ 

“Captain, you have not told us what makes 
calms questioned Mrs. Francis. 

“Winds are divided according to the place they 
are found, into tropical, temperate, and polar. It is 
between these belts of winds, or when the seasons 
are changing, that calms occur. The horse latitudes, 
for instance, lie between the temperate and tropical 
winds. But calms are not always calm,” added the 
captain, smiling. “Great storms sometimes happen 
in these latitudes, and light winds are met here too.” 

“Can wind really blow a hundred miles an hour ?” 

“It can blow much faster. On Mount Washing- 
ton, in New Hampshire, it has reached a speed of 
one hundred and eighty miles an hour, but that is 
the quickest time known. Forty-five miles an hour 
is a heavy gale.” 

Just then the mate beckoned to Toys, and, pointing 
over the side of the vessel, said, “A whale !” 

At first the boys thought he was joking. But on 
looking, there, sure enough, was a huge, lazy lump 
of shining black flesh wallowing in the water. 

As the animal dived straight down his forked 
tail alone was seen — like that of a duck hunting for 
worms in the mud under a stream. Then up would 
come his great square head, and once they had the 


A Calm 


63 


pleasure of seeing him throw out a high jet of water, 
which the mate called ‘‘blowing his nose” Some- 
times he would raise the front part of his body, curve 
his back, and disappear with a plunge. Halde cried 
out, “He is turning a somersault!’’ 

The whale played around the vessel for about half 
an hour; no one tried to catch it, as the flesh is not 
good to eat, and they had no way of keeping the fat. 

“I don’t think he is very big,” remarked Halde, 
after watching him awhile. 

“About nine feet long. This is not a real whale, 
but what we call a blackfish,” said the mate. 

Bill, the sailor boy, who was cleaning paint on 
deck, whispered this riddle to Toys: — 

“When is a fish not a fish 

“When it’s a seaweed.” 

“Wrong!” 

“I don’t know.” 

“Give it up ?” 

“Yes.” 

“When it’s a whale.” 

“A whale is a fish; that is no riddle,” said Loys. 

“Do fish give milk.^” asked Bill. 

Loys began laughing. 

“You can laugh if you like,” said the boy; “but 
whales give milk.” 

“Fish can’t give milk; I don’t believe it.” 

“Fish can’t, but whales do.” 


64 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

^‘Father, do whales give milk ?” called Toys. 

"^Yes, certainly; and baby whales, when they are 
little, suck just like calves.’’ 

“Oh, how funny ! a fish to give milk.” 

“The whale, though shaped like a fish, is not a 
fish and cannot breathe under water any more than 
a horse or a dog. His nose holes are on top of his 
head, so that he can draw in air easily when swim- 
ming, and through them he throws out the water 
he takes into his mouth with his food.” 

“I told you so,” nodded the little sailor to Toys. 

After supper Loys and Halde went to the fore- 
castle, where the sailors were talking about whales. 
Several had been on board whalers, that is, on ships 
sent out to hunt whales. 

“How do you catch them ?” asked Loys. 

“When we get up near Greenland, where they live, 
a sailor is kept on the lookout. If a whale is seen, 
he shouts, a boat is quickly lowered, and off we go. 
Generally Mr. Whale dives as he hears us, but he 
soon must come up to breathe, so we wait. Not a 
sound is made, every eye is strained, the rowers’ 
backs are bent, the oars held ready. One man stands 
in the bow with a harpoon in his hand, another sits 
by the coil of rope with which the harpoon is fas- 
tened, to let it pay out free. 

“Suddenly you hear a cry, ‘There she blows!’ 
Down cut the oars, the boat flies forward, and the 


A Calm 


65 


next minute whiz goes the harpoon. As soon as 
the whale feels the iron, down he sinks, the line 
spinning out after him. A big fellow sometimes 
carries off a mile or more of rope before he tires, and 
he goes so fast that if the line is not kept wet it will 
catch on fire. Each time he comes up to breathe an- 
other harpoon is flung into him. At last he can go no 
farther, and a long lance in his side ends the battle.” 

‘‘I have been on a boat when the rope gets foul, 
breaks, and we have nothing for our trouble,” said 
a red-haired sailor, taking up the story. ‘‘Or the 
harpoon misses; then don’t the men growl!” 

“Fve seen times in a rough sea, when the whale 
is strong and active, that we had to cut the line and 
let him go, harpoon and all,” added a third. 

“The best is when the whale is dead and towed 
to the side of the ship. We cut off the blubber, the 
tail, and the head, hoist them into the hold, and let 
the carcass float away. Each whale means a good 
piece of money at home,” said the first. 

“ I like better a spell of fine weather, and a kettle 
rigged on deck with a fire under it to melt out the oil. 
That’s a jolly time to make doughnuts; though the 
blubber do smell powerful bad.” This from the 
redhead. 

“Doughnuts.?” repeated Loys. 

“Yes, cakes. The cook mixes them up, and we 
drops them into the boiling oil.” 


66 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘Are they not very nasty?’’ 

“Sailors can’t be too choice,” answered the man; 
“and blubber cakes are better than hardtack, often 
a year old and as full of creeping things as an ant’s 
nest. How would you like to drink water in which 
dead rats are floating around ?” 

“Not at all!” 

“You would be glad to get it if you had nothing 
else and were miles and miles from land. Why, 
I have eaten roast dog and found it very good.” 

“Your ship must have been an ocean tramp,” 
remarked the whaler. 

“She was as good a ship as you ever sailed in, but 
we met a hurricane. The galley was smashed, the 
cabin was swamped, and the masts had to be cut 
away. Before we were taken off by another ship 
we ate or drank what we could get.” 

As the boys went to bed they asked their father 
if the red-haired sailor had been telling them the 
truth. 

“Yes,” said Mr. Francis; “sailors have a hard life. 
Their food is often bad, and in case of shipwreck 
they suffer more than I can tell you. Yet they like 
the sea and are seldom contented on shore.” 


CHAPTER VIII 


STILL UNDER SAIL 

E ach day as the ship advanced the heat became 
greater. The family generally arose early 
and went on deck. It was pleasant to watch 
the dawn growing brighter over the gray sea and the 
yellow sun ball appear in the east, like a fire kindled 
to warm the earth. 

One morning when the boys came up to enjoy 
this sight, Mr. Francis remarked: ‘‘The captain 
told you that wind could travel over a hundred miles 
an hour. I know something which goes ten times 
as fast, yet none of us can feel the motion.’’ 

“What is that 
“Ourselves !” 

“But, Father, we are very still, and the vessel is 
as quiet as if the anchor was down.” 

“All the same, you, the vessel, and the sea itself 
are moving about one thousand miles an hour. 
That is fast traveling, is it not ? ” 

“Are you joking. Father.^” 

“No, indeed!” 

Just then, across the sea, at the edge where the 
water seemed to meet the sky, was seen a tiny bit 
67 


68 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

of the sun. Each moment a little more came into 
view. Mr. Francis pointed to it and asked: — 

“Why do we see more and more of the sun every 
moment 

“Because the sun is coming up. My geography 
says, ‘The sun rises in the east,’ ” answered Loys, 
happy to explain something in his turn. 

“Suppose I tell you that the sun does not rise or 
come up, in fact does not move at all in our direction.” 

“But I can see it.” 

“Do you remember when we went so fast in the 
cars, how it appeared as if the trees and fences were 
running past us ? It was the cars and ourselves that 
rushed forward, while the objects outside stood still. 

“The same thing is happening now. The earth 
with ourselves on it turns toward the east. Every 
hour it moves about a thousand miles. As we turn 
we see more and more of the sun, just as we saw more 
trees and fences when we went forward on the cars.” 

“Why, then, do geographies say that the sun rises .?” 
asked Loys, in a disappointed tone. 

“I am sorry that they do, my boy. It is over 
three hundred years since we knew that the sun 
neither rises nor sets ; yet the words are still used — 
mistakes have long lives.” 

After breakfast the boys had another surprise; 
a number of porpoises were seen playing around the 
vessel. These animals are strong swimmers and 


Still under Sail 


69 

seem fond of rough water. The mate ran for his 
grains in the hope of taking one. Climbing down 
some chains that hung from the bowsprit, he waited 
until the porpoises came tumbling and leaping be- 
neath him, and finally succeeded in flinging the iron 
deep into the side of a lively fellow. 

A splashing arose like that made by the paddle 
wheel of a steamer when the engine begins to work. 
The porpoises scattered in every direction, and the 
poor wounded one tried to follow. It rushed wildly 
here and there, dived, rose again, leaped into the 
air, until the mate, watching his chance, passed a 
running noose over its head and flung the line to 
the sailors above. Six men eagerly pulled on the 
rope, and presently the porpoise was drawn over the 
rail, still showing enough life to keep every one at a 
good distance. 

It was about five feet long and took quite a time 
to die. As soon as the mate thought it prudent to 
go near, he cut it to pieces with his sharp knife. 
The meat of porpoises is coarse and dry, but sailors 
like it better than salt beef and consider the liver a 
delicacy. 

‘‘These animals are like whales,’’ said Mr. Francis. 
“They breathe through a hole in the top of their 
head and give milk. But while a whale has no 
teeth, porpoises have very sharp ones and are greatly 
feared by the fishes they prey upon.” 


70 Two Boys in the Tropics 

It was now near twelve o’clock, and Daniel came 
up with the sextant. This is an instrument used to 
measure the height of the sun above the horizon, 
from which can be found the position of a ship at sea. 
Captain Stout called the boys and asked them if 
they would like to look through it. Toys and Halde 
each took a peep in turn and saw the fiery reflection 
of the sun in a tiny mirror. Then, just as eight 
bells struck, the captain took his observation. 

‘‘Now, young men,” he said good-naturedly, as 
he lowered the sextant from his eyes, “if you come 
downstairs, I will show you where we are.” 

The boys went for their father, and together 
they hurried to the captain’s cabin. It was a 
snug little room, not unlike the one the boys occu- 
pied, only somewhat larger and furnished with 
shelves and pigeonholes for books, instruments, and 
papers. Here they found the captain busy with his 
calculations. 

To pass the time Mr. Francis unrolled a map for 
the boys to examine, and what a strange map it was ! 
Instead of countries, states, and towns being marked 
upon it, only the sea-coast with the bays and rivers 
emptying themselves along the shore were shown. 
All the rest of the map was covered by the Atlantic 
Ocean. Lines of longitude and latitude were drawn 
over the whole map, while every island, shoal, and 
current was marked. 


Still under Sail 


71 

'‘What do these numbers mean around the 
shores asked Loys. 

"This is a sea map, or chart,’’ answered Mr. 
Francis. "Each number shows the depth of the 
water at that particular spot.” 

"Why, there are hundreds of them!” 

"Yes, and each one had to be measured with a 
lead line by men in boats. Think what work must 
be done before a map of this kind can be made.” 

"I see no numbers in the middle of the ocean.” 

"None are needed where the water is not shallow; 
a ship cannot run on a rock or a shoal in deep water.” 

"How deep is the deep, deep water. Father ?” 

"Not far from here, north of Porto Rico, the United 
States man-of-war Blake found a depth of five miles. 
The bottom of the ocean is like the surface of the 
land ; there are plains, hills, valleys, and high moun- 
tains under water. Most of the West India Islands 
are tops of mountains whose bases are in the bottom 
of the sea.” 

"If I was a fish,” said Halde, "I would swim up 
the high mountains and slide down on my tail.” 

"You foolish boy, how could a fish sit on his tail 
asked Loys. 

"I would get a nice smooth shell for a sled.” 

"You could not sit down, anyway.” 

"Well, then, I would lie down; it would be more 
comfortable.” 


72 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

Captain Stout, having made his calculations, 
looked up and said, ‘‘We will now drive in a post 
to mark how far we have come/’ 

“You can’t, the water is too deep,” contradicted 
Halde. 

The captain made a round dot with his pencil 
where the lines of longitude and latitude which he 
had found crossed each other on the map. 

“That is my post,” he explained. “I have put 
one in every day since we started, drawing a line 
between the points to show our course.” 

Loys followed the line from the mouth of the 
Chesapeake Bay, east beyond the Bermuda Islands, 
then down, and found that the captain had put in 
his “post” where the latitude 28 and longitude 
58 meet. 

“And now, young gentlemen, you know exactly 
where the ship is, and — let us have dinner.” 

After dinner the boys went fishing, but caught 
nothing except seaweed. Still, this amused them 
for a time. As the mate saw what they were doing, 
he said: — 

“In a few days you will not need a hook and line; 
the fish will fly on deck of themselves.” 

“Fishes can’t fly,” replied Loys. 

“Wait a little; perhaps if the wind freshens, you 
may see some to-morrow.” 

“I don’t believe it!” 


Still under Sail 


73 


The mate laughed and told them to come up after 
supper during his watch, and he would make them 
a swing. 

As it grew dark the vessel began to move slowly 
through the water. There was not a cloud, the 
moon shone brightly, and a nice swing hung from 
the boom, on which the boys took turns, lazily rocking 
with the motion of the ship. All at once Halde cried 
out : — 

“Do look, the water is on fire 

Running quickly, they saw on all sides, at the 
prow and in the wake left by the broken waters, a 
pale fire wavering, sinking, and rising with the waves. 

“You could light your cigar down there. Father,’^ 
said Halde. 

“I never knew that water could burn,’’ remarked 
Toys. 

“It is not burning,” answered their father; “the 
light is made by a living thing resembling a bit of 
jelly, but so small that you cannot see it. Do you 
remember the lightning bugs, or fireflies, that in 
summer evenings filled the air at Bywater Many 
other insects and worms have this singular power 
of giving light.” 

“They never need a lantern in the dark,” said 
Toys. “And what quantities there must be ! When- 
ever a wave breaks you see them.” 

“Yes, and in miles and miles of tropical seas, 


74 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

besides. It would be impossible to form an idea 
of their number, but in a cubic foot of water 25)000 
have been counted.’’ 

Eight bells now struck, and Mother said the boys 
must go to bed as they had been up early. They 
were soon in their berths. How pleasant it was to 
lie and hear once more the water gurgle outside, 
singing a sleepy song as the vessel moved onward. 

Next morning a funny thing happened. The 
boys went to take their bath while it was still dark, 
and when they plunged into the tub they found 
themselves surrounded by sparks of fire. Every 
splash became a shower of light that broke over 
their bodies; and without stopping to think, both 
began to scramble out. 

Mr. Francis, laughing, held them back and called 
their mother to see the glittering bath. By the time 
she got there the children had become accustomed 
to the fire which could not burn and amused them- 
selves making the sparks fly in every direction. Halde 
named it “fire-water.” 

Mr. Francis took a little of it in a bottle to show the 
boys when they were dressed; but it was difficult to 
believe that the clear water could make the light that 
they had seen, or that it could contain living creatures. 

“If a whale swallowed many, many of these little 
fire jellies. Father, would they burn his stomach?” 
asked Halde. 


Still under Sail 


75 


“No; there is so little heat connected with this 
light that it can scarcely be noticed, even with care- 
ful experiments.’’ 

“It seems to me the whole world is wonderful,” 
said Loys, thoughtfully, his chin on his hand. 

It was Sunday. The sailors did no work on the 
vessel, but busied themselves mending and washing 
their clothes, which they afterwards hung up to dry 
on lines stretched across the fore-deck. This done, 
they took a bath and dressed in clean suits; the 
rest of the day was devoted to pleasure. 

Their chief amusement was telling stories; some- 
times a good story-teller would continue his tale 
from day to day, for a week or two. The mate 
carved a wooden boat for Loys; and Bill, the sailor 
boy, made what he called a flying-fish for Halde. 
The little black pig was killed and roasted for din- 
ner, and after it was served a fine roly-poly pudding 
with plenty of raisins inside. 

In the evening the sailors played the flageolet and 
sang and danced. Bill, alone, refused to dance, 
on account of the death of the little black pig. “We 
were such good friends!” he sighed. 

“ But you ate a large piece of your friend for din- 
ner,” remarked the mate. 

“I did that to comfort myself,” answered Bill. 

The children walked to the forecastle to visit the 
sailors, after which they sat talking to their mother 


76 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

and father of the home they had left and the home 
to which they were going. It was a beautiful even- 
ing. The sky was clear, but to the northeast a 
gray bank of clouds had been creeping up and was 
growing darker and larger since the day ended. 
The captain and the mate looked in this direction 
from time to time. 

Suddenly a strong wind blew out of the bank and 
rushed for the bark, wrinkling the sea as it came. 
The Potomac leaped forward as if roughly awakened. 
Captain Stout gave quick orders, which the sailors 
ran to obey. Instead of the flageolet, you heard 
the blast whistling a jig in the rigging and the 
water foaming about the vessel, that, lashed by the 
wind, soon reached a speed of ten knots an hour. 

The squall passed and a steady breeze took its 
place. Low, black clouds flew across the sky like 
enormous bats, while high above them the moon 
seemed sailing in another blue sea. Sometimes 
a few large drops of rain fell on the awning. Mr. 
Francis pointed out four bright stars called the 
Southern Cross, which can only be seen in the tropics 
and the countries farther south. 

Just then something whizzed past Loys, followed 
by the cat. Mr. Francis, quicker than Pussy, picked 
it up, saying: — 

“Now, boys, here is a flying-fish. Let us go to 
the cabin and look at it.” 


Still under Sail 


77 

The fish was about the size of a herring, with the 
fins at its neck unusually large. 

“Can it really fly?” asked Toys. 

“Did it not come on deck?” 

“Yes; but it has no wings.” 

“You are right. It has only large fins which it 
extends, but cannot move up and down like the wings 
of a bird. It leaps rather than flies, and when once 
out of the water the fish is carried by the wind from 
thirty to forty feet before it falls; just as if it were 
a leaf or a bit of paper. You will see plenty of 
flying-fish to-morrow, and very pretty they look when 
a quantity spring into the air together.” 

As they went again on deck. Pussy sat on the rail 
of the vessel watching to catch fish; which showed 
that she and they were old acquaintances. The 
mate also watched and picked up a few for the boys’ 
breakfast. 

After that night the Potomac continued running 
southward with full sails, making about two hundred 
knots a day, for the trade winds had at last been 
reached. The sun became hotter and hotter, 
though rain-clouds often flew about, bringing fre- 
quent showers and leaving bright rainbows as they 
cleared away — so many rainbows that it seemed as 
if every cloud had one of its own. 

The boys began to be anxious to end their voyage. 
The box of cake was nearly gone, and the apples 


78 Two Boys in the Tropics 

had been finished long since. Every morning they 
asked the captain if British Guiana was in sight. 
They packed and unpacked their books several 
times and begged their mother to have ready the 
clothes in which they were to land. 

Captain Stout laughed and joked about their 
impatience, telling them to “take their choice about 
the time of landing.’’ 

Finally, the happy morning arrived, and after 
twenty-four days at sea the journey was over. 


CHAPTER IX 


LAND AT LAST 

T he dark blue water became light blue, then 
pale green, then a dirty yellow; for the large 
rivers of South America carry out so much 
mud that the sea is colored many miles from shore. 

A man was sent aloft on the mainmast and an- 
other stationed at the bow to keep a good lookout. 
The mate walked restlessly from place to place, 
sometimes mounting the rigging and straining his 
eyes towards the southwest. Captain Stout had 
his glass pointed in the same direction. 

They were now in the current that sweeps along 
the top of South America on its way to the Gulf of 
Mexico, and care had to be taken that the Potomac 
would not be carried past British Guiana. 

Most of the sails were furled. A tub with the 
lead line had been brought from the booby-hatch. 
Every twenty minutes the rope was passed along the 
side of the vessel where three sailors stood to hold 
it clear. At a word from the mate, down dropped 
the lead, the line paid out until it touched bottom; 
then all hands drew it rapidly on deck. Bits of red 


79 


8o 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

cloth marked the fathoms upon it, each fathom 
being six feet long. The mate counted these and 
reported to the captain, who went to the cabin to 
consult his chart. 

A hawser, or rope, the thickness of a man’s arm 
was dragged forward. Bill said it was a thread to 
sew the sails with, but the mate explained that 
it was used for tying the vessel to the wharf. Next, 
a small line was run up to the masthead to hoist 
the Potomac s flag on her arrival. 

The coast of British Guiana is so low that it can- 
not be seen until you are quite near land. To help 
seamen to find the harbor, a ship, which carries a 
flag by day and a light by night, has been anchored 
twelve miles from shore. It was for this “light- 
ship,” as it is called, that all on board were looking. 

Presently a cry came from aloft, “There it is!” 

“Where.?” shouted the captain. 

“West by south, sir.” 

At first the boys could see nothing; then a small 
speck appeared, which grew larger, until it took the 
shape of a flag. The Potomac ran up her flag in 
return, and the light-ship put out signals to inform 
the harbor master of Georgetown that the Potomac 
had arrived. 

“Is it not wonderful,” said Mr. Francis, “that we 
were able to sail over two thousand miles and find 
that small flag on the great ocean!” 










Land at Last 


8i 


^"Captain Stout is a very clever man,” answered 
Halde. 

‘‘He is a good navigator; but had it not been for 
the men who invented the compass and the sextant, 
and for those who prepared the charts and wrote the 
books which the captain uses in his calculations, 
such a journey would have been impossible.” 

Meanwhile the Potomac approached the light- 
ship and a pilot-boat could be seen putting off, which 
soon reached the bark. The rowers, as well as the 
pilot, were black men. Slavery once existed in 
British Guiana, and a great number of negroes were 
brought there from Africa. 

Along the shore the tall chimneys of the sugar 
estates came into view, with cocoanuts and cabbage- 
palms between. Next, the shipping in the harbor 
was seen, then the fort and the city with its light- 
house, church spires, and market. 

The Potomac moved on with many directions from 
the pilot, and picked her way among a crowd of 
boats, big and little, to an open space opposite the 
fort, where she dropped anchor. 

The harbor master arrived in a fine launch manned 
by a black crew and asked from where the vessel 
came, to whom she was sent, how many passengers 
she carried, and what cargo she brought. After him 
the health officer paid a visit to see that no one on 
the vessel was ill. 

G 


82 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

The passengers were now free to land, and as the 
Potomac would remain anchored until a wharf was 
ready for her, Captain Stout offered to take the 
family ashore in his boat. You may be sure that 
no one refused. 

‘‘Do you remember when I told you in Baltimore 
that you would be as glad to end your voyage as to 
begin it?’’ said Mr. Francis. But the boys were 
busy seeing the boat lowered, and did not hear 
him. 

The captain again appeared in his high hat and 
black suit. The sailors were dressed in clean checked 
shirts and white duck trousers. Father, Mother, 
and the children wore light clothing and straw hats. 
They had sailed from winter into summer since 
their journey began. 

A wooden step-ladder hung at the side of the 
bark, down which each one went backwards. The 
Potomac lay in the mouth of the Demerara River, 
and the current going out met the tide coming in, 
so the little boat tossed a good deal. The rowers 
had a hard pull over the jerky water, and Mrs. 
Francis began to feel sick ; but the distance was short, 
and in a few moments the family found themselves 
once more with the solid ground beneath- their 
feet. 

A drive soon brought them to their hotel, where, 
on being shown to their rooms, they were glad to 


Land at Last 


83 

lie down, for the least exertion was tiresome in the 
great heat. Towards evening, however, the air 
became cooler, and having had a good nap and a 
bath, they felt ready to go out. 

They drove through a wide street with prettily 
painted houses on both sides, each surrounded by 
a beautiful garden. Down the middle of the street 
were ponds covered with lilies and bordered by pink 
and white oleanders. But what pleased the boys 
most was the many cocoanut trees they saw along 
the way, bearing hundreds of nuts, some large, 
brown, and ripe, others small and green, half hidden 
by bunches of yellow blossoms. 

The street ended in a turn which brought them 
to the coast. Here they had a last view of the 
Potomac rocking idly in the harbor. Mr. and Mrs. 
Francis listened to a band that was playing by the 
sea wall, while the two boys watched the children 
of the colony running races and building forts in 
the sand. 

After the concert was over they drove along the 
coast. As far as you could see there was neither 
hill nor mountain; nothing but a low, flat plain. 
They passed several sugar plantations. The fields 
were surrounded by trenches on which flat-bottomed 
boats drawn by mules were carrying the ripe canes 
to the buildings where the juice is crushed out and 
made into sugar. 


84 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

All of a sudden a parrot flew by and perched on 
some bushes quite near. 

"‘Stop, stop!’’ cried Toys; “let us catch it. I 
wonder to whom it belongs ?” 

“My dear boy,” said his father, “that is a wild 
parrot. In the woods here you can see large flocks 
of them. They are so plentiful that you may even 
eat parrot soup if you like.” 

“How do they catch them 

“Ask the coachman; perhaps he can tell you.” 

Loys climbed on the box beside the driver and 
repeated his question. 

“You watch wah deh feed, young massa, and lay 
some branch about, covered wid sticky gum. Den 
trow a little seed or fruit deh. When birds come 
to eat, dey stick fast. You catch demeasy, ei, ei!” 

“Where do you get the gum ?” 

“From de sappadilla an’ de star-apple trees.” 

“Do wild parrots ever fly into town asked Loys. 

“ No, little massa. Dey no seem to prefer de town.” 

Loys remained on the box, thinking he would hear 
a great deal about the strange birds and trees from 
the coachman as they drove along; but he found the 
man could tell him very little. It sometimes happens 
that those who live the longest in a country know the 
least about it. 

When they returned to the hotel, it was dark. In 
the tropics day ends about six o’clock throughout 



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Land at Last 


85 


the year, and there is no twilight. The boys had 
dinner and soon after went to bed. Mr. Francis 
promised to take them house-hunting the next morn- 
ing; he intended spending at least a year in George- 
town and wished to get settled as soon as possible. 


CHAPTER X 


A HOME IN THE TROPIC OF CANCER 

N ext day, after breakfast, the family started 
off on their search for a home. It happened 
that a gentleman who was leaving the colony 
wished while absent to let his house furnished; 
here they went, and were delighted to find it was just 
what they needed. 

After passing through an iron gate they entered 
a large garden, where the house stood, shaded by 
tall palms. A high flight of steps led to the front 
door, which opened on a gallery or porch enclosed 
by jalousies, a kind of swinging shutter used in the 
tropics. 

The parlor, called by the English a drawing-room, 
came next, with a dining room and back gallery, 
from which a stairway went up to the second floor 
and ended in a small tower which overlooked the 
town. 

The furniture was neat, and Toys saw two little 
iron cots in the children’s room that seemed as if 
just waiting for himself and Halde. A cosy dressing 
room, bath, and three bedchambers were found on 
86 


8 ; 


A Home in the Tropic of Cancer 

the second floor; while the basement contained a 
storeroom, a pantry, an office, and the servants’ 
rooms. 

“Where is the kitchen.?” asked Mrs. Francis. 

“Outside, in the yard,” called Loys, who had 
already been there. 

“It is not very nice,” she remarked on entering 
the low building meagrely furnished with a few white 
pine tables and some pans hanging on the wall. 

On returning to the house, several things struck 
them as singular. No chimneys or fireplaces were 
to be seen, the numerous doorways between the 
rooms had no doors, the floors had no carpets, and 
the outside walls appeared to be nothing but windows. 

“It is to make the house cool,” explained Mr. 
Francis. 

“How will we keep out the flies .?” sighed his wife. 

“House-flies do not live in British Guiana.” 

“That is fortunate!” 

“Yes. If you tried to darken the rooms as at 
home, we should die of the heat. In this climate 
buildings are planned to let in the most air possible.” 

“Oh, Father !” exclaimed Loys, “do come and 
live here. I think if Robinson Crusoe had found 
a house like this on his island, he would have rented 
it right away.” 

“It certainly would have been more comfortable 
than sleeping in a tree,” agreed Mr. Francis. 


88 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘Father, there is a great big rocking-horse in the 
children’s room,” cried Halde. “I hope you will 
rent the rocking-horse too.” 

“Of course. But now we must go back to the 
hotel for lunch.” 

After having eaten, Mr. Francis went to the owner 
of the house and made the final arrangements for 
taking it. When he returned, he was amused to 
find his wife and the boys busy packing, with the 
idea that they could move in at once. 

“How will we get dinner without a cook and a 
maid .?” he inquired. 

“We can buy bread at the baker’s shop. I saw 
one near our house,” suggested Loys. 

“I will milk the cow and we can look for eggs in 
the stable as we did at Grandmother’s,” added Halde. 

“There is no cow to milk, no eggs to find, no hens 
to lay them, no wood to light the fire; nothing, 
nothing, nothing except your dry bread, which will 
be a poor meal.” 

“Your father is right,” said Mrs. Francis. “We 
are too impatient. I will ask the mistress of the 
hotel to get some servants for us before we start. 
Meanwhile we can go to a store and order the things 
we need. Loys, take a pencil and write down what 
I call out: Tea, coffee, sugar, rice, flour, a ham, 
lard, butter, and soap. What else?” 

“Jelly!” shouted Halde. 



A Home in the Tropic of Cancer 








A Home in the Tropic of Cancer 89 

“Those nice tins of biscuit, like we had on the 
vessel for lunch,’’ added Toys. 

“Brooms, candles, pepper, and salt,” continued 
Mrs. Francis, “and anything else you see in the 
store that we may need.” 

The boys and their father set out, while Mrs. 
Francis went to inquire about servants. By evening 
she selected two from those who came to hire and 
gave the cook money to buy fresh meat, fruit, and 
vegetables, so that the family would be able to take 
their meals in the new house the next day. 

Morning came. The trunks were carried down 
and put on two donkey carts'. The darkey drivers 
quarrelled with each other for the first load, then 
whistled, yelled, and beat their little animals to make 
them hurry. Mr. and Mrs. Francis, the children, 
the bundles, and the toys and books followed in a cab. 

Mr. Francis had engaged a porter, who, with the 
cook and maid, was waiting at the gate. A number 
of street boys collected around the carts as they drove 
up in front of the house, and women bearing heavy 
trays on their heads stopped to look on. In a few 
minutes there was a large crowd. 

A man had arrived from the shop with the things 
ordered; and as it was near breakfast time Mrs. 
Francis, leaving her husband to manage the noisy 
mob, went to see what cook had brought from 
market. 


90 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

A bright fire blazed on the raised open hearth. 
This, with a small brick oven, was the only place in 
the kitchen for cooking. 

‘'Can we buy a stove in town?’’ asked Mrs. 
Francis of the cook. 

“Yes, missus, but dis same place cooks too good. 
Me make a fry, an’ a bake, an’ has yams, fresh bread, 
an’ fruit for breakfast. You like dat?” 

“I will know better when you send it up. But 
it seems to me you are not the same woman I hired 
yesterday.” 

“No, missus. Me is not dat same cook. Me is 
dat cook’s cousin. She’s take too bad dis mornin’, 
an’ me come in she’s place. When her’s better, 
her come.” 

“I hope you will do well,” concluded Mrs. Francis. 

“Me’s a master cook, no mistake !” 

At breakfast it appeared that the cook’s cousin 
had somewhat overrated her talents. The fry was 
a fish called queriman, caught that morning in the 
sea, the bake was a corn-cake, and the yams were 
a kind of large potato, the thickness of a man’s arm 
and nearly as long. Everything had been prepared in 
a tasteless manner, but a dish laden with tropical fruit 
as bright as flowers made up for other deficiencies. 

The boys were especially pleased with the mangoes. 
This is a fruit the shape of a kidney, the largest ones 
being the size of a cocoanut, the smallest not bigger 


91 


A Home in the Tropic of Cancer 

than a hen’s egg. Its skin is smooth, like that of an 
apple, and is tinted red, yellow, brown, or green ac- 
cording to the variety; its flesh is a bright yellow 
and very juicy. 

However, it is much easier to tell what mangoes 
are like than to eat them. After paring one, Loys 
tried to take a bite; but the fibrous flesh would not 
yield, and as he pulled with his teeth the yellow juice 
ran through his fingers and wet his face, his hands, 
and his arms. Halde fared no better. 

Mrs. Francis decided to put a fork firmly into hers 
to keep it on the plate. She finished one side safely, 
and had begun the other, when the fruit slipped from 
under her fork to the table and thence to her lap, 
making a yellow spot wherever it touched. 

‘‘That fruit must give plenty of work to the washer- 
women,” said her husband. “Now I will try my 
luck. Carla, how do the people here eat mangoes ?” 

“You must leave a circle of skin at each end to 
hold it by,” answered the maid. “Then pare the 
rest and cut the flesh from the large seed in the 
middle. After that you can take the pieces with a 
fork, sir.” 

Mr. Francis followed Carla’s directions and found 
that mango eating, like many other things, is easy 
when you know how to do it. All agreed that the 
troublesome fruit was excellent. 

Breakfast ended, Loys and Halde ran to the gar- 


92 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

den. One side was bordered by a thick row of trees 
on which they saw a round green fruit. It hung 
from the branches by a stringlike stem, a quarter 
of a yard long, that Halde called a shoestring. Toys 
went to the kitchen door and asked the cook if she 
would tell them the name of the fruit* 

‘‘It be a monkey-apple,’’ said cook. 

“Is it good to eat ?” 

“Yes, when it be soft an’ yellow.” 

“When will it be soft and yellow.?” 

“Ei, ei ! young massa, how me know dat?” 

Toys turned to look at some other trees and sud- 
denly exclaimed: “Over there are mangoes like the 
ones we had for breakfast ! And see, they hang on 
green strings like the monkey-apples. Are they ripe, 
Cook .?” 

“Not quite, young massa.” 

“Will they soon be ripe?” 

“When deh gets nice an’ red, young massa.” 

“Nothing is ripe! This is a very poor garden,” 
said Toys. 

“De guavas be ripe, young massa.” 

“Which are they?” 

“Dat tall tree over yondah.” 

Toys followed the direction of her finger and saw 
a tree covered with yellow fruit the size of a walnut. 
Its bark was peeling off in places, like that of the 
buttonwood or hickory trees at home. 


93 


A Home in the Tropic of Cancer 

Just then Mr. Francis appeared and Halde 
shouted, ‘‘Father, do come here and look at this 
buttonwood tree filled with little oranges.’’ 

“Please, sir, deh be guavas,” corrected the cook, 
with a courtsey. 

“May we have some to eat. Father.?” 

“Are guavas good for them. Cook?” asked Mr. 
Francis. 

“They be better stewed than raw. I stew some 
with sugar for dinner.” 

“But I want something to eat now,” insisted Toys. 

“De oranges be ripe, young massa.” 

“Father, did you ever hear of anything so foolish ? 
Cook says that these green, green oranges are ripe.” 

“So deh is,” repeated cook. 

“Must they not first turn yellow?” 

“There be no yellow oranges here,” insisted the 
cook. 

“It is easy to decide without a dispute,” said Mr. 
Francis. “The cook may bring a few upstairs and 
we can try them. But now come in; the hot sun will 
give you fever.” 

“I would like to taste a new fruit, I do not care for 
oranges,” objected Loys. 

“Here is a little tree full of limes, a kind of lemon. 
You and Halde may pick some, and cook will make 
lemonade for you.” 


CHAPTER XI 


NINETEEN MILES A SECOND 

^ i .FATHER/’ asked Toys, looking around the 
dining room, ‘‘why are there no chimneys 
in the house 

“We have no need of fires; it is never cold here.” 

“What happens when summer is over?” 

“The summer never ends. This is the Torrid 
zone.” 

“ If winter can come to Bywater, I do not see why 
it cannot come here.” 

“I told you on the Potomac that the earth turns 
from west to east every day, which makes light and 
darkness. At the same time it travels in a great 
circle around the sun. So the earth has two motions, 
like a top when spinning and moving over the floor. 
The last motion is so fast that every time my watch 
ticks we have gone about nineteen miles. In this way 
we are able to get around the sun once a year.” 

“I see now why poor Mother has headaches so 
often,” remarked Halde. “It is a pity we cannot 
stop a little and rest.” 

“The earth in its journey leans at times towards 


94 


Nineteen Miles a Second 


95 


the sun, at times away from it. The places on which 
the sunlight falls directly are the hottest, and those 
where it shines in a slanting direction are the coldest. 
In the tropics the sun’s rays fall directly throughout 
the year, so it is always summer there ; while at the 
poles, where but little sunlight can fall, it is always 
winter. In countries lying between the poles and 
the equator the heat varies according to the position 
of the earth, thus making the seasons.” 

“It is like a merry-go-round,” said Halde, “and 
the sun is the horse in the middle.” 

“We can never skate, nor slide down hill here,” 
remarked Loy^, regretfully. 

Cook now entered with the lemonade of limes 
that the boys had picked in the garden. A piece 
of green skin was curled over the rim of each glass 
for ornament, and a lump of ice tinkled in the middle. 
Halde quickly swallowed his lemonade, but instead 
of drinking, Loys looked at his glass with eyes full 
of wonder, until Mr. Francis asked him what was 
the matter. 

Loys colored, but as his father waited for an answer 
he pointed to the lemonade, saying: “You told me 
winter cannot come to British Guiana. Look at 
the ice in my glass.” 

“ Every month a large ship-load of ice is sent here 
from Boston and stored in an ice-house, just as at 
home. Many good things are packed in the ice, 


g6 Two Boys in the Tropics 

such as grouse, partridges, fowl, beef, and mutton; and 
after being sometimes forty days on the way they 
come out tasting as if killed only a short time before. 

‘‘You can also get American fruits and vegetables 
at the ice-house: apples and pears, cabbages, beets, 
carrots, celery, and potatoes. Nearly all that we 
eat is brought from the States. We use only South 
American air and water, so you will remain little 
Yankees however long you stay here.’^ 

Mrs. Francis now went upstairs and the boys 
followed. Trunks stood open and clothes were 
scattered about the room. Carla was busy making 
the beds. A woman sat sewing some thin white 
material woven in tiny holes, and as the children 
went into the nursery they saw that each cot was 
surrounded by a curtain of the same stuff. It hung 
on a frame fastened to the ceiling, and when tucked 
under the mattress below, made what Halde called 
a “bed-house.’’ 

“Why have you put this pretty curtain around our 
beds. Mother?” asked Loys. 

“That is a mosquito net,” explained Mrs. Francis. 

“Is it to catch mosquitoes with ?” 

“It is to keep mosquitoes from catching you.” 

“Are they very large here ?” 

“No, but very plentiful.” 

“They are not so bad here as farther up the coast,” 
remarked the seamstress. “ I know a gentleman who 


Nineteen Miles a Second 


97 


had the table and chairs under a net when he took 
his meals, so that he could eat in peace. The vam- 
pires are bad there, too.” 

‘‘What are vampires 

“Large bats that bite you with their sharp teeth 
and suck your blood when you are asleep. They 
suck animals, too. Some places along the river 
you can’t keep a single fowl; the vampires suck 
them all to death.” 

“Do they kill little boys, also.?” asked Halde, 
looking troubled. 

“I never heard of their killing anyone; but when 
you wake up with a bleeding ear or toe after being 
sucked by a vampire, you feel well weak.” 

“If one comes to me, I will cut off its head with 
Mother’s scissors,” said Halde, boastfully. 

“They do not come when you are awake, little 
master,” replied the seamstress. 

“Won’t the mosquito net keep them out.?” asked 
Toys. 

“ I think it would ; besides, they are not often found 
in town. On the plantations the men hang their 
hammocks in open galleries, or when traveling they 
swing them under the trees, where the vampires 
can easily come.” 

“Do you live in the country?” 

“I lived there when I was young.” 

“Did you see many wild animals .?” 


98 


Two Boys in the Tropics 


^‘Plenty!’’ 

‘‘Any monkeys 

“Yes, in the cane pieces.’^ 

“What are the cane pieces ?” 

“The fields where the sugar-cane grows. The 
monkeys run about in them as busy as rats, eating 
the sweet cane and talking to each other.’^ 

Toys had been asking the questions, but Halde 
now inquired, “Can monkeys really talk.^’’ 

“I think they speak a language of their own, and 
people down here believe that they could speak ours, 
but are afraid that if they did we would put them to 
work. They are such clever beasts. I have seen 
a black quata monkey scrubbing the floor with a 
cocoanut husk, just like a woman. They can wash 
clothes and bring water if you teach them, and they 
nurse and carry their young about, as sensible as 
ever.’’ 

“ Oh, Mother ! listen to that. Will you get me a little 
monkey so I can teach it to read ?” begged Toys. 
“That could not be done,” answered Mrs. Francis. 
“Father says we should never be sure a thing 
cannot be done until we try it many, many times. 
Now, did you ever try to teach a monkey to read ?” 
“No, indeed.” 

“Then you don’t know if it can be done or not; 
and I am going to try.” 

“Very well.” 


Nineteen Miles a Second 


99 


“But I must first have a monkey/’ 

“Of course.” 

“And I too,” added Halde. 

“A nice little sakawinki, that is the kind,” sug- 
gested the seamstress. “Yellow, with a white face, 
a pink nose, and a long tail tipped with black. 
They are no larger than a small kitten.” 

“Mother, will you get us each a sakawinki?” 
cried the boys both at once. 

“Ask your father.” 

Mr. Francis was busy unpacking when the chil- 
dren burst into his room. 

“Will I buy two monkeys ? Certainly. Did you 
see the cages in the back yard ? I am going to fill them 
with animals and birds, and you may teach them all 
kinds of tricks.” 

“You are too good. Father,” said the boys, each 
hugging one of their father’s arms. 

“That will do. Now run away until I arrange 
my things. All in good time.” 

“Will to-morrow be a good time?” 

“ I am afraid to-morrow is a little soon. But when- 
ever I see an animal or bird for sale, I will buy it. In 
the end we may get quite a collection. Now run 
away.” 

The boys hurried off to their mother with the good 
news, and then asked the seamstress if she knew any- 
thing more about monkeys. 


100 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘I will tell you a Nancy story about one, if you 
wish/’ 

‘‘What is a Nancy story?” 

“That is what the black people call any story 
which is not true. Nancy is supposed to have been 
an old slave, very witty and cunning, full of lies and 
tricks. One time he saw a man planting yams. 

“‘What you doing?’ asked Nancy. 

“‘Me plant yams.’ 

“‘Is dey cooked?’ 

“‘Course not!’ 

“‘Fool man, you cook de yams an’ dey grow up 
jest ready to eat.’ 

“The man took Nancy’s advice, and cooked and 
planted the yams, which Nancy came and stole the 
same evening, thus getting a meal without even 
the trouble of making a fire.” 

The boys laughed and begged for another story. 

“One day Nancy and his friend Edit went out 
to steal a dinner. As it was Sunday Nancy took 
his preach book with him. They came to a house 
where they saw plenty of poultry, ducks, and geese. 

“‘Where’s de master?’ asked Nancy of an old 
man sitting in the doorway. 

“‘He’s at church.’ 

“‘Why for be you not there, too?’ 

“‘Thiefs too bad jest now. I stay home for to 
watch de fowls.’ 


Nineteen Miles a Second 


loi 


‘“You come inside de house an’ I read you some- 
thing good.’ 

“The man being willing, they entered the house, 
and Nancy, closing the door, read in a loud voice 
until the watchman began to nod. Then, without 
changing his tone, he went on. ‘ Edit, take de largest 
drake. Go through de bamboo walk an’ I will come 
wid a bag of sweet potatoes.’ 

“There was a startled quack and the sound of 
running feet, which told Nancy that his advice had 
been followed. Bidding his sleepy host good-by, 
Nancy left the place, taking care to go through 
the back yard and fill his bag with sweet pota- 
toes.” 

“Not a bad story,” said Mrs. Francis; “it reminds 
me of Grimm’s fairy tales.” 

“But you have not told us the story about the 
monkey,” objected Toys. 

“Bo Monkey and Bo Tiger once took a walk to- 
gether. Coming to a woods. Bo Monkey ran nimbly 
up the trees to pick fruit. After throwing a quantity 
of mangoes to his friend, he began to eat some fruit 
himself, but Bo Tiger called out: — 

“‘You, sir ! Take dat out of your mouth an’ trow 
it to me.’ 

“ Bo Monkey, afraid to disobey, did as he was told, 
but it was weary work. Every fruit tree they came 
to Bo Tiger ordered him up and watched him so 


102 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

closely that he could not get a single bite for him- 
self. All at once a macaw flew over them. 

‘‘‘Oh, what a pretty bird!’ said Bo Tiger. 

‘“Fool tiger 1 You call dat thing pretty .? Meself 
paint dat, hurry, hurry.’ 

“‘Paint me like dat.’ 

“‘Wid all pleasure,’ answered Bo Monkey, who 
thought he saw a way to punish the tiger for his self- 
ishness. 

‘“Will you go do it now.?’ 

“‘Certainly, if you done bring de materials.’ 

“‘What you need?’ 

‘“Twenty yards of rope, a bottle of turpentine, 
three brushes, an’ some yellow, blue, an’ red paint.’ 

“The tiger brought the things.” 

“Where did he get them?” interrupted Halde. 

“The story does not tell,” answered the seamstress. 

“Go on,” said Toys. “What happened next?” 

“‘You let me tie you to a tree,’ continued Bo 
Monkey, ‘because you move while I paint, it all 
done spoil.’ 

“The tiger, anxious to look well, consented; and 
the monkey, having passed a few yards of rope 
around him, said : — 

‘“Shake! Let me see.’ 

“Bo Monkey, finding his friend could still move, 
passed more rope around him, drawing it as tight 
he could, and again said : — 


Nineteen Miles a Second 


103 

Shake! Let me see/ 

“This time the tiger could scarcely stir, but the 
monkey, to make sure, went on until he had used all 
the rope. 

“When he saw that Bo Tiger was quite fast. Bo 
Monkey, running to all the fruit trees, ate his fill. 
Then, cutting six tamarind rods, he beat the greedy 
tiger to his satisfaction and went home. 

“By and by some wood ants came, and gnawing 
through the rope, liberated the prisoner; but ever 
since that day Bo Tiger has had stripes on his skin 
where the blows fell.” 


CHAPTER XII 


NEXT MORNING 

L OYS and Halde were awakened before dawn 
by the crowing of cocks. So many cocks ! 
To hear them call and answer each other 
from all directions, far and near, loud and low, 
you might think a colony of fowls had settled the 
town. 

Next, dogs of every kind howled, yelped, and barked 
as if the coming day was a thief against whom they 
wished to put the world on guard. It is true, each 
day takes from us something which never returns. 

Presently, boom ! went the five o’clock gun at the 
garrison near by. 

As it grew lighter a thrush’s clear voice began to 
pipe, and numbers of little birds whistling ‘‘ kiskadi, 
kis, kis, kadi,” fluttered past the window. The 
breast and stomach were bright yellow, the top of the 
head was covered with a black patch shaped like a 
jockey cap, and the wings and back were brown. 
Lively, quarrelsome things, — the whole garden soon 
became filled with their pleasant racket. 

Some twittering wrens searching for food hopped 
in and out of a box fastened to the side of the house, 

104 


Next Morning 105 

and a flock of vultures, each the size of a small turkey, 
roused themselves from their roost on the palm- 
trees; as the boys watched, at least fifty spread their 
ragged wings and soared away. Ugly, black, and 
silent, they prefer a bit of old dead horse, dog, cat, 
or even alligator to any good-morning song. A pert 
kiskadi amused himself by perching on the back of 
one of the hindmost and pecking him as he flew. 
In vain Mr. Vulture tried to get free; his little enemy 
left only after giving him a good drubbing. 

All at once a queer chattering began. As it was 
now light, the boys climbed from under the mosquito 
nets of their ‘‘bed-houses’’ and ran to the window. 

In the next garden a monkey was chained to the 
top of a post, where he had a small house of his own. 
When he saw the children, he caught the limb above 
him and stood up on his hind legs, nodded his head, 
wrinkled his forehead, winked his eyes so fast you 
could scarcely see the lids, opened wide his mouth 
as if grinning, and snapped his white teeth together. 
Then he turned over upside down, swung by his tail, 
hung on by one foot, or a hand, and made all kinds of 
antics, jabbering in his odd language the while. 

Toys and Halde clapped their hands in return, 
laughing so loudly that Mrs. Francis opened the door 
and asked what was the matter. 

“ Mother ! come here. Look at this monkey, 
he knows us,” cried Halde. 


io6 Two Boys in the Tropics 

“ How can he know you when he never saw you 
before?’’ 

“I did not say he saw us before, I said he knows us 
now,” insisted Halde. 

‘‘A rather short acquaintance,” answered his 
mother. 

‘‘Do beg Father to buy him,” broke in Loys. 
“May I go right over and ask if he is for sale ?” 

“What, in your bare feet!” 

“Where are my clothes? Let us dress quickly, 
Halde. Father, will you give us money to buy that 
monkey ? Isn’t it a good thing that you took this 
house with a monkey next door ? Wasn’t I sensible 
when I advised you to rent it ? ” 

“Yes, very sensible,” agreed Mr. Francis, who 
had just entered. 

“And may we buy him?” 

“If the owner will sell him.” 

“Hurrah, Halde! This is a happy day. Let us 
hurry.” But instead of making haste, the two boys 
took hands and jumped around till they were out 
of breath. 

Carla now brought their chocolate and toast. 
Loys drew a table to the window, that they might 
watch the monkey while eating. 

Their new friend was certainly not handsome. 
His nose was flat, with wide nostrils ; his mouth, large, 
with thin lips; his eyes, small, yellow, and covered 


Next Morning 107 

by white lids; and his ears were large and placed far 
back on the head. A glossy black patch of hair 
came down in a point to the middle of the low fore- 
head ; a few short, light hairs formed the brows ; while 
darker hair along the cheeks and under the chin 
made a beard. His j aws were wider than the temples, 
and his sharp teeth looked wicked, especially the 
long, pointed ones on each side of the mouth. 

The oddest thing about the monkey was that he 
was always in movement. In and out of his house he 
went, on top and under it, down the post and up again, 
swinging, sitting, scratching himself — anything but 
lying down to rest. 

When the boys had their breakfast, they started 
oiF and soon returned with the news that the neigh- 
bor would sell his pet for three dollars. This being 
satisfactory, the monkey was brought home and 
chained to a post in the back garden. 

The first thing the children did on his arrival was to 
feed him. Halde, a little timid about going near, 
pitched him a mango. He caught it in his two front 
hands, pounded it on the ground to make it soft, 
tore off the skin with his teeth, and ate it in less than 
a minute. 

The boys laughed at the funny, quick bites he took; 
at which he seemed offended and showed his temper 
by throwing the seed at them. This done, he put 
his fingers, four at a time, into his mouth and sucked 


lo8 Two Boys in the Tropics 

them, then the thumbs, and lastly, licking the palms 
of his hands with his little red tongue, he was what 
Halde called ‘‘as clean as ever/’ 

When the monkey had finished his toilet, Halde 
handed him a stick, and the two had a tug of war 
which ended in the animal grabbing away the stick 
and victoriously biting and tearing it to splinters. 

Loys, thinking the monkey might be thirsty, 
brought him a can of water. The animal upset the 
can, knocked it on the stones, and finally put it on his 
head like a hat. Although the can was too big 
for him and reached down to his shoulders, it seemed 
to please him very much; and he walked proudly 
around on his hind feet to show how fine he looked. 
Halde approached him unseen and struck the can 
with the mango seed. Thereupon Mr. Monkey 
threw off his finery in a rage and sprang at the boys. 

Cook screamed and ran from the kitchen, and 
Mrs. Francis hurried to the garden. 

“ Dat same monkey bite well bad fo’ true, when he 
vex. Come away from he, young massas,” said 
cook. 

“Will he really bite?” asked Mrs. Francis. 

“True, true. Dey well wicked . beasts. He an 
old man monkey. Dey too, too bad.” 

Mrs. Francis called the children upstairs until the 
monkey could be put in a safer place. They sorrow- 
fully obeyed. 


Next Morning 109 

After thinking awhile, Halde suddenly exclaimed, 
‘‘Mother, I know a safe place to keep the monkey.” 

“Where?” 

“ Let Carla tie him to the foot of your bed, so you 
can always watch him.” 

“ But, Halde, I would not care to have such a visitor 
in my room.” 

Loys, who had been looking out of the window, 
called out: “Mother, see this cocoanut tree in our 
garden. Will you let our monkey climb up and 
throw nuts down to us?” 

“What nonsense!” 

“No, it isn’t. When monkeys are angry they 
throw cocoanuts at travelers. That’s the way Sind- 
bad the Sailor got his.” Here Loys shook his fist at 
the monkey to keep him in a favorable state of mind. 

“Your monkey is too weak to lift a nut, much' 
less to drag one from the tree by breaking its tough 
stem,” explained Mrs. Francis. 

“That is true,” admitted Loys, glancing again at 
the enraged monkey, no bigger than a cat and with 
hands about two inches long. “But just the same 
I would like a nut.” 

“We must ask some one if they are ready to pick. ” 

“Don’t ask the cook. Mother. She says every- 
thing is not ripe, except the green oranges. Let us 
call the seamstress, she will know.” 

“Yes, there are plenty of dry ones and a number of 


no 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

jelly cocoanuts; both are good to eat,” replied the 
woman, after examining the tree. 

“Are cocoanuts made of jelly ?” asked Halde, who 
was fond of sweets. 

“As long as the pulp is soft it is called jelly. 
The shell then is also soft and can be cut with a knife. 
When the nuts grow older, the pulp becomes solid 
and the shell is hard. They are full of milk, too, 
when young.” 

“ Oh, Mother, do cocoanuts give milk, like whales ” 

“The juice is called milk, but it isn’t real milk. In 
most fruits and nuts the juice forms a part of the 
pulp; in the cocoanut it is separate and can be poured 
out like water. It makes a pleasant drink.” 

“ But how can we get them down ? ” inquired Toys. 

“Any boy will climb the tree for a bit,” said the 
seamstress. 

“What is a bit.?” 

“Four pennies,” explained the woman. 

Hearing that any boy could climb the tree, the 
brothers ran down to try it. Loys began, but soon 
found that his arms were not long enough to grasp 
the thick trunk; and though Halde cried, “Go ahead, 
Loysie,” and tried to push him from behind, it was 
of no use. 

Cook, seeing him, said: “Oh, my young massa, 
you can no do dat. If you want, my Sammy he 
climb like a kibihe.” 



Copyright by B. L. Singley 

A Banana Orchard 

Coffee Bushes are planted in the Shade of the Banana Trees 







Ill 


Next Morning 

‘‘What’s that?” 

“Dat’s a creature dat walks down a tree head 
fo’most better nor on level ground.” 

“Do send for your boy at once,” begged Loys. 

“Ei, ei, what you say, child! Too much people 
go by now. Dem cocoanuts no cotton pods. Some- 
body head be cracked. I tell Sammy he come to- 
morrow early, early. You get plenty nuts an’ I 
make cakes and sweeties for you.” 

Just then Mr. Francis entered the gate, and Halde, 
taking him by the hand, said, “Come and see the 
tall cocoanut tree we have found ; it must be a thou- 
sand feet high.” 

“Oh, no, my Halde, that won’t do!” 

“How high do you think it is?” inquired Loys. 

“We can easily measure it.” 

“Yes, when the boy goes up to-morrow.” 

“With much less trouble.” 

“How, then. Father?” 

“ Go to the kitchen and bring the rope which was 
around the packing cases.” 

Loys returned with the rope, and Mr. Francis told 
him to put it around the trunk of the tree. 

“It is easy to do that,” said Loys, as he obeyed, 
“but I meant the height of the tree.” 

“All in good time. But there goes the breakfast 
bell. Halde, fetch a small stone, and, Loys, do not 
lose the mark on the rope. When we have eaten, we 
will begin work.” 


CHAPTER XIII 


TREES 

‘'"V TOW, Father,’' cried both boys, as they saw 
Mr. Francis lay his knife and fork straight 
on his plate, “tell us the secret.” 

Mr. Francis smiled. “I noticed, when in the gar- 
den, that the tower of this house is about the height 
of the cocoanut tree. We will go to the top of the 
tower, tie the stone on our rope, drop it over the rail 
till it touches the ground, draw it up, measure it, 
and — ” 

But the children were already on their way to the 
tower, and Mr. Francis was obliged to stop talking and 
follow them. 

‘‘Come on the shady side,” he said, quite out of 
breath as he reached the platform above, “the sun is 
very hot.” 

In a few minutes the line with the stone to make it 
heavy had been lowered to the ground, marked, 
and drawn back. 

“ Now place your eye on a level with the rail, and see 
how much of the tree is above it.” 


II2 


Trees 


113 


‘‘I think we don’t know,” remarked Halde, doing 
his best to squint across the intervening space, one eye 
half shut and the other half open. 

Mr. Francis in his turn looked along the rail and 
said, ‘‘The trunk is about two yards higher than the 
rail, and the branches three yards more. 

“Before we go down,” he continued, “notice how 
the long, feather-like leaves are bound to the tree 
by a band of fibres that one might take for coarse 
brown cloth. The nuts, as you see, grow in huge 
clusters and spring from between the leaf stalks. 
Blossoms and nuts in all stages of ripeness grow on 
the tree at the same time; it can be said never to 
cease bearing. When a leaf stalk is dead, it falls off, 
leaving those scars which give the trunk its roughness. 
Cocoanut trees generally lean to one side and are 
sometimes oddly twisted, for they like the open ground 
near the sea, where they are forever tossed by the 
wind, and their bushy heads are a great burden.” 

“Will you let the cook’s boy climb the tree to- 
morrow.?” asked Toys, on the way down. 

“ Certainly, if he comes. Now let us measure the 
rope.” 

The rope was laid on the dining room table, and 
Mr. Francis measured it with the yardstick. 

“There, that gives us fourteen yards for the dis- 
tance of the rail above the ground, to which we must 
add five yards. How many feet does that make .?” 


1 14 Two Boys in the Tropics 

Loys called out, “Fifty-seven feet/^ 

“ Good ! and the girth ? ” 

This they found to be three feet seven inches. 

“Now, as you cannot go out during the heat, try 
to tell me the difference between our oaks at home 
and cocoanut trees.’’ 

“Our trees,” answered Loys, “have limbs growing 
out of the trunk, all the way up; while cocoanut 
trees have no limbs, but only a bunch of leaves grow- 
ing out of the top.” 

“Right, so far. But a thing you have not noticed 
is that the trunk of the cocoanut is nearly the same 
thickness when the tree is small as when it is full 
grown; which, with its bushy leaf branches, gives 
the young tree the appearance of a huge brown radish 
coming out of the ground. The trunks of our trees 
are slender at first and gradually increase in thickness 
as they grow up.” 

“Yes, I remember. Why is that 

“Oaks and chestnut trees get larger by adding 
layers of wood to the outside of their trunks. If one 
is cut across, you will see rings where the wood has 
been formed each year. They are called outside 
growers. 

“Cocoanuts, palms, and bamboos grow from the 
inside and are called inside growers. They must 
begin by getting their full girth when young. Sup- 
pose a boy had to be as thick as a man, because he 



Copyright by B. L. Singley 

Drying Coffee 

The Coffee is spread evenly over the Ground, and is soon dried 
by the Burning Tropical Sun 


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Trees 


115 

could only grow upwards; that is the way with the 
young palms/’ 

‘‘How funny!” interrupted Halde, comparing his 
slim little figure with his father’s. 

At five o’clock, the garden being in shade, Mr. 
Francis took the boys and measured two palms of 
different heights. These were not cocoanuts, but the 
cabbage-palms in which the vultures had made their 
home. 

The first was seventy feet high, the second thirty- 
nine feet. The girth of the taller taken a yard from the 
ground was seven feet eight inches, that of the second, 
seven feet five and a half inches; so that the tall one 
was only two and a half inches larger around than 
its neighbor that was but a little more than half its 
height. A young palm in the group had split its bark 
trying to expand, like a growing boy bursting through 
his jacket. 

It was all very well to know the height and girth 
of their trees, but the boys would rather have had the 
nuts. Loys presently went back to his first scheme 
and asked his father if he thought the monkey could 
pull off some nuts for them. 

“I do not know what he could do,” replied Mr. 
Francis, “but he is not likely to attempt anything so 
useful. If he ran away, perhaps that would be the 
best thing that could happen to us.” 

“No, indeed, we are very fond of our monkey. 


Ii6 Two Boys in the Tropics 

Do you think, Father, you might take your gun and 
shoot a nut down ?” 

Now, Toys, be a little patient. The whole town 
would think us crazy if I began shooting at cocoanuts. 
The cook has promised to bring her boy to-morrow, 
and he will get them down.’’ 

Unfortunately the boys were not to have their 
wish realized so soon. When dinner was served, the 
meat looked the color of ink. Mrs. Francis went 
down to investigate. Large pieces of wood were still 
burning in the oven, and flame and smoke swept 
out of its open door to find their way up the chimney. 
It was before this blaze that the meat had been 
cooked and a pudding was now blistering. 

Why did you not take the wood from the oven before 
baking the things. Cook.?” questioned Mrs. Francis. 

“ Ei, ei, ma’am, people no bake widout fire in dis 
same country.” 

“Of course not; but once heated, the bricks keep 
warm enough to bake the food.” 

“Well, dat be queer for true, ma’am.” 

The answer was so stupid that Mrs. Francis 
felt certain the woman had never cooked in an oven 
before. This proved to be correct. The poorer 
class in British Guiana use a grated iron pot filled 
with charcoal for cooking, and it appears this was the 
only help to preparing food that the “master cook” 
had known. 





Trees 


117 

“You cannot remain with me,” said Mrs. Francis 
decidedly. “Your cousin must come in the morning.” 

“ My cousin, she hab a place already.” 

“Then why did she engage herself to me .?” 

“You see, ma’am, she more better favored ’an me, 
an’ know de white people’s way better, so she get de 
place for me, den me come.” 

“Well, you can also go!” exclaimed Mrs. Francis, 
provoked at the trick played upon her. 

“No, me can’t. Not for a month. Me engaged 
by de month, dat’s the rule in dis country.” 

“I never engaged you at all.” 

“But me be here for true.” 

Mrs. Francis left the kitchen. In the evening she 
gave Carla two days’ wages for the cook, with a 
message to her not to return. The woman threat- 
ened to bring the matter before the magistrate. 
However, she finally left, and the way being clear, 
Carla offered to get some one in time to make 
breakfast next day. 

The family had to be content with a supper of 
bread and cheese ; and what was still worse, the boys 
had no one to pick their cocoanuts in the morning. 


CHAPTER XIV 


A MONKEY EXPERIMENT 

A CARPENTER came in the morning to put 
up a house for the monkey. The boys 
amused themselves watching the man as he 
worked; so did the monkey. The house consisted 
of a pine box with a hole in one end for the door, 
and a few boards over the top to make a pointed 
roof. Instead of resting on a post, it was set on two 
pieces of wood nailed to the mango tree. 

When all was finished, the carpenter untied the 
monkey and carried him to his new lodging. Here 
Mr. Monkey seemed quite satisfied until the man left. 
He then examined the house carefully, inside and 
out, after which he busied himself tearing it to pieces. 
It was wonderful how the splinters flew. Splitting 
the ends of the boards with his teeth, he tore them 
with his hands, until nothing remained but the floor, 
where he sat on a pile of rubbish, chattering and 
winking his small bright eyes at the boys. 

Hearing the children laugh, Mr. Francis came down 
and was surprised to see what had been done. 

“Isn’t he strong?” asked Loys, with pride. 

“I do not think him a fit pet for you at all,” an- 
us 


A Monkey Experiment 119 

swered his father. ‘"I must get rid of this beast as 
soon as possible.” 

‘‘No, Father. He is such a clever monkey, we 
must keep him and teach him things. What is a 
good name for him r* 

“Do you think a bad monkey ought to have a good 
name ?” 

“Ours is really a good monkey — he wishes to 
amuse us.” 

“You might call him Sapajou.” 

“Does that mean anything naughty asked Loys, 
doubtfully. 

“No. It is the name given to all monkeys that 
have tails like his. He can wrap it around a branch 
and hold on with it as if it were a hand.” 

“That shows how sensible our monkey is. Now, 
there is the cat, she likes to climb trees, but she never 
thought of holding on with her tail.” 

“All monkeys,” continued Mr. Francis, “cannot 
grasp with their tails, and some, like baboons, have 
only a short tail.” 

“Well, Father, when an animal has no tail, you 
cannot blame him for not holding on with it. But I 
blame cats; they have nice, long tails, but are too 
stupid to use them.” 

“Father,” exclaimed Halde, “though I think Sapa- 
jou very clever, I would like a baboon also. They 
must look so funny with a stump of a tail.” 


120 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

“Baboons do not live in South America; they 
belong to Africa. We have about twenty different 
kinds of monkeys here, but none are like those across 
the sea.” 

“What do monkeys eat when they are in the 
woods?” inquired Toys. 

“Fruits, seeds, vegetables, roots, nuts, wild honey, 
and small insects, such as spiders, beetles, and fleas. 
Monkeys in their turn are eaten by Indians and 
snakes; so that even on top of the highest trees they 
are not safe.” 

“Poor little things!” exclaimed Halde. 

Mr. Francis, having business to look after, went 
out, and Toys thought this would be a good time to 
begin teaching Sapajou. He brought a bright-colored 
picture-book from the house, and with Halde’s 
help piled some boxes beside the mango tree. These 
he mounted so as to be near his pupil. 

But how to begin ? Sapajou could not say the 
words after him, and when Loys pointed them out, 
the monkey would not trouble himself to look. 

Loys now thought of making Sapajou point for 
himself, but was a little puzzled which hand to take, 
as the monkey had four. He finally chose the front 
right hand and tried to bend down the fingers in 
order to leave one free. The fingers all shut together, 
and when Loys straightened the first, they all followed. 
Loys tried this several times before he found that 


A Monkey Experiment 121 

they could not move separately. Meanwhile Sapa- 
jou became tired and made an end to the lesson by 
catching the book and climbing with it to where his 
master could not reach him. In a few minutes more 
it was torn into shreds. 

‘‘Oh, Loysie, what a pity!” 

“I don’t care, it was an old book, an)rway.” 

“Father will be vexed.” 

“It was my own; Auntie gave it to me.” 

“She did not mean you to tear it up.” 

“I did not tear it. Next time I will make letters 
on wood, then Sapajou can’t spoil them.” 

“Yes, he can. Look how he splintered up his 
house.” 

“That’s so!” and Loys got down and stood 
thoughtfully watching the monkey bite the last page 
of the book into bits the size of snowflakes, which 
were falling in a white shower around the tree. By 
and by he said, “Halde!” 

“What.?” 

“I think our monkey is very strong.” 

“Indeed he is.” 

“I believe he could pick cocoanuts.” 

“Mother says he is too little.” 

“She does not know how strong he really is. He 
could bite the stems as he did the boards of his box, 
and the nuts would fall of themselves.” 

“Do you think he would climb up ?” 


122 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘He must ! We have only to loosen his chain and 
coax him over to the tree. Then we will clap our 
hands and throw stones at him, until he is so angry 
that he will run up the trunk and bite olF the cocoa- 
nuts to make them fall on us.’’ 

“Suppose they strike us 

“We can run from under. Come, help me get 
the stones.” 

Halde did not enjoy the experiment; still, he went 
with his brother to look for stones. They were not 
easily found, as the walks in the garden were covered 
with small seashells instead of gravel. At last Halde 
discovered a few broken bricks and slates in a corner, 
while Loys gathered some mango seeds and old tin cans. 
These they laid in a heap under the cocoanut tree. 

Loys now mounted the boxes and undid Sapajou’s 
chain. The animal was very shy, expecting to be 
punished for tearing the book; but by gentle tugging 
and coaxing Loys got him to follow until they reached 
the desired spot. 

Halde went on ahead, and patting the tree, called 
out, “Come, come, good monkey, jump.” But 
Sapajou refused to budge. 

Loys then caught Sapajou by the middle, set him 
on the sloping trunk, and clapped his hands. Find- 
ing himself free, the monkey climbed a little way and 
stopped. 

“Pelt him, Halde, quick!” 



Sapajou 






A Monkey Experiment 123 

OflF went the brick. Fortunately it was only the 
size of a walnut, or the monkey might have been 
badly hurt. It struck him on the hind leg, but had 
a very different effect from that which the children 
expected. Instead of going up the tree, he turned, 
and seeing Loys stooping to pick up another stone, 
leaped on his back, where, furious with rage, he began 
to bite and tear hard enough to have brought down 
cocoanuts by the bushel, had it only been in the right 
place. 

Both boys yelled with fright. The servants came 
running, and the new cook pulled off Sapajou, get- 
ting a bite on her hand in return. She dropped the 
animal, who sprang up a vine near by and entered 
the dining room window. 

The next moment a great crash was heard; Sapa- 
jou had landed upon a shelf of tableware, and by the 
time Carla appeared with a broom much of the china 
and glass was in pieces. 

When Carla rushed forward, he jumped over her 
head on to the dining table, and from it gained the 
chandelier. Here, with his tail wrapped around the 
gas pipe and every hand holding fast, he looked 
like an ornament not easily dislodged. Carla 
bravely mounted a chair; but the monkey, seeing 
that the broom could reach him, dropped lightly to 
the table again and with a bound was off through 
the window. 


124 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

Mrs. Francis at the first alarm had gone to look 
after her boys, whom she found seated disconso- 
lately on their pile of stones under the cocoanut tree. 

“Are you hurt, children 

“No,’’ replied both, “but we are so frightened;” 
and Halde continued, “See how Loysie’s blouse is 
torn.” 

Toys turned and showed his white flesh peeping 
through his ragged coat. The strong linen material 
had prevented the monkey from doing much harm, 
and only a few scratches could be seen. 

Mrs. Francis took them into the house and asked 
the cook if she needed anything for her hand. 

“No, missus, I have sucked the bite. It is not 
deep and does not hurt me; but I will put on a poul- 
tice to draw out the poison.” 

“Is a monkey’s bite poisonous ?” 

“We think the bite of all wild animals is poison- 
ous, and the poultice will do no harm.” 

“Well, I am glad the wicked beast is gone; and I 
hope he will not stop until he reaches the woods 
whence he came.” 


CHAPTER XV 


MORE TROUBLE 

T hey were not yet done with the monkey. 
Soon after breakfast Carla came in, saying 
a man wished to speak with the master. A 
Portuguese followed, who, with a deep bow, handed 
Mr. Francis a folded paper. 

‘"What is this.?’’ asked Mr. Francis. 

“It’s dat monkey,” said the Portuguese, in his best 
English, which resembled somewhat the negro dia- 
lect. 

“What monkey?” 

“Your monkey.” 

“I do not understand.” 

“Me understan’, me understan’, very too well! 
Your monkey come in my shop trou de window. 
He climb up shelves. He knock down bottles, many 
bottles. Smash, smash, smash ! All de good gin run 
out, de best gin in de town lay flat on de floor just 
like common trench water. You must pay me for it.” 
“How do you know the monkey is mine ?” 

“Man see he come out your window, den cross de 
garden into me shop. Me live over dere.” 

“But such a bill as this, twenty dollars! How 
long was he in the shop ? ” 


126 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

“He in too long. Me try to out he fast, fast. 
Me take stick. My son take stick.” 

“Yes, and chased him around so as to break as 
many bottles as possible.” 

“Oh, no, massa. Me not know monkey belong to 
rich man. Me not want to spoil de good gin.” 

“Well, I will make some arrangement about it.” 

“Me don’t want some arrangement. Me want 
money. Dere is plenty law in dis place.” 

“You shall have your money. I will go to-mor- 
row and see how many bottles were broken.” 

It was a mistake that Mr. Francis had not gone 
immediately to count the bottles. When he arrived 
at the shop the next day he found such a pile of 
broken pieces, that a whole family of monkeys could 
not have done the damage. However, to save time 
and temper, he settled the bill. 

Scarcely had the Portuguese left, when a red- 
faced German entered, carrying something wrapped 
up in a large bandanna handkerchief. Crossing 
the room slowly, he laid the bundle on the table. 

“What have you here .?” asked Mr. Francis. 

The man untied the handkerchief, and pointing to 
a mass of screws and wheels, solemnly replied, 
“Dese is a clock.” 

“It is a queer clock,” said Mr. Francis to his 
strange visitor. 

“It was a queer beast dat made it like dese.” 


More Trouble 


127 


'‘A beast 

‘‘Yes, your monkey. When dey chased him out 
from de gin-shop, he climb up to de second story of 
my house where I keeps furniture an’ tings for sale. 
Dis one clock stood on a table an’ dat beast break it 
to pieces. If you pay to haf de clock put togeder, I 
ask notings more. I no watchmaker, I only sell tings.” 

“That is moderate enough. But where is the 
monkey now ? ” 

“ How should I know ? When he see me, he went 
off trou de window.” 

“The beast will be my ruin ! If I knew where he 
is, I would pay some one to shoot him.” 

“Oh, Father,” exclaimed the boys, “our dear 
Sapajou !” 

Mr. Francis paid the German and passed the 
day expecting to hear of some new monkey trick of 
the fugitive. Evening came, however, and nothing 
more was known of Sapajou for months. Doubt- 
less he had been caught and kept as a pet by some 
one, who, like Mr. Francis, could not judge an 
animal by its face. 

After tea, when the family were sitting in the gallery 
talking over the events of the day, Mr. Francis 
suddenly remarked, “I wonder how that monkey 
got loose this morning.” 

Nobody had thought of asking this question before. 
The boys looked at each other guiltily. 


128 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

“Tell him,” whispered Halde. 

“He will be angry,” returned Loys. 

“Be brave, Loys. I am brave.” 

“Because you did not do it.” 

‘T helped; I threw the stone. Say we did it.” 

“ It is of no use to tell, unless I say the truth. You 
only did a little.” 

“I hit the monkey and made him jump.” 

“ But I invented the whole plan. That was the 
very worst of all.” 

It was easier for the boys to blame themselves than 
to tell their father, and not until he asked what they 
were whispering about, did Loys find courage to say, 
“I wished to try an experiment.” 

“I threw the stone,” added Halde. 

“What experiment do you mean?” 

“Sindbad the Sailor found apes that threw down 
cocoanuts. Mother said our monkey was too little 
to break the stems. But you often told us that we 
must not believe a thing cannot be done until we have 
seen it tried. There was the tree and the monkey 
just handy, and I thought we ought to try it, so I 
untied Sapajou.” 

“I pitched the stone,” repeated Halde. 

“Was that an experiment, also?” 

“That was part of it. We wanted to make Sapa- 
jou angry, as they did in the ‘Arabian Nights.’” 

“I am afraid it was the cocoanuts, rather than the 
information, that you were after.” 


More Trouble 


129 

“We wanted both, but Sapajou spoiled the whole 
thing. Instead of climbing the tree, he jumped on 
my back; and now that he is gone, we will never 
know if a monkey can throw down cocoanuts, or 
not.” 

It had been a hard day for the children. Without 
wishing to do harm, they had caused a great deal of 
trouble and had lost their pet, besides. Mr. Francis 
took one on each knee. “My dear boys,” he began, 
“was your experiment worth what it cost? The 
Portuguese wants twenty dollars, the German re- 
ceived five, and it will require ten to replace the broken 
glass and china in the dining room. Then there is 
also your torn coat, the cook’s hand, the danger 
you were in, and our anxiety. Now what have you 
learned in return?” 

The boys looked uncomfortably at each other and 
said nothing. 

“You know an experiment is made in order to 
find out something. What have you found out from 
yours ? ” 

“ I wanted to know if monkeys could throw down 
cocoanuts, but Sapajou would not let me find out.” 

“And so all the money that I have spent is lost.” 

“I am very sorry, Father.” 

“Can’t you think of anything?” 

“Father,” said Halde, sleepily, “won’t you please 
think for us ? We are so tired.” 


130 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘I will, Halde, and you can tell me if I am right. 

“First, experiments are not easy to make. 

“Secondly, experiments may be very dangerous. 
Even prudent men have lost their lives by them. 

“Thirdly, experiments must be made with great 
care and thought. Have you not learned all this 
to-day?’’ 

“Yes, indeed!” answered both boys, with con- 
viction. 

“Then our troubles have been of some use. Now, 
I don’t want you to stop making experiments or trying 
to find out things for yourselves; but you should ask 
either your mother or me to help you. Do you prom- 
ise this ?” 

“We promise,” repeated the boys, feeling as if a 
great load had been taken off their hearts, and Loys 
added, “Father, I think after all my experiment 
was a very good one; only the monkey was bad.” 

“We have had a day of monkeys. Do you know 
anything new about them?” 

“They can bite I” said Halde, promptly. 

“They have four hands and no feet at all,” an- 
swered Loys; “and such funny hands! Sapajou 
could not point with his forefinger; it would not stay 
open without the others.” 

“ Did you ever notice that we cannot close our little 
finger without the third finger bending, also ?” 

The boys tried, and laughed when they saw that, 


More Trouble 


131 

in spite of their efforts, the third finger insisted on 
curling up. 

“Why is that, Father.?’" 

“The tendons of the third and fourth finger are 
joined together near the base, so that these fingers 
can only move together. 

“I once knew a gentleman the tendon of whose 
little finger was separate from that of the third. He 
could do this trick, and while traveling among the 
Indians of our Western States he would often amuse 
himself showing them his accomplishment. They 
would also try to do it, and sometimes one would 
hold his little finger a long time with the other hand 
to make it stay down. But when he loosed it, up 
it would jump, to the great enjoyment of the other 
Indians.” 

“My little sons,” interrupted Mrs. Francis, “it is 
time to go to bed. We have certainly had enough 
of monkeys for to-day.” 

“Father,” whispered Toys, as he kissed Mr. 
Francis good night, “will you buy us another 
monkey ? ” 


CHAPTER XVI 


THE RAINY SEASON 

I T had been very hot all morning; so hot that the 
air quivered above the red streets like over a 
stove. The sky was a blazing white, and the 
glare of the sun was so great that it made your eyes 
shrink. 

“Is it not very warm for the end of January 
sighed Mrs. Francis. 

“It is about to rain, ma’am; that is why it seems so 
close,” answered Carla. 

“I do not see how any rain can fall out of that 
clear sky.” 

Presently the wind began to come in little puffs. 
You could see no clouds, but the sunlight lost its 
brightness, and the pale sky gradually turned gray. 
The wind grew stronger; papers, magazines, table- 
covers, even the rugs on the floor, were caught and 
whirled about the room. Suddenly huge drops of 
rain splashed down. The sky still darkened and 
seemed to settle nearer the earth. The drops came 
faster, racing and crowding each other until the air 
was a heavy mass of water — the rainy season had 
begun ! 


132 


133 


The Rainy Season 

^‘Oh, Toys/’ called Halde, who had hurried to the 
window, ‘'come and see this cabman. Doesn’t the 
rain pelt him !” 

“There goes a man on a bicycle,” added Loys, as 
he joined his brother. “The wheels throw the mud 
all over him.” 

“Look at that poor washerwoman with the basket 
of ironed clothes on her head. What a pity !” 

“And that man trying to cover his tray of candy. 
It will all be melted.” 

Every minute some new funny sight made the 
children laugh : a boy hurrying along with an old 
flag wrapped around him, or another, still less for- 
tunate, running with a leaky basket over his head 
as a shelter. 

The donkeys and their drivers alone were not in a 
hurry — it is their business to be out, wet or dry. 
The animals trotted along, quite as if they did not 
notice the water dripping from every tuft of their 
long hair; while the drivers whistled as though un- 
conscious of the cataracts that fell from their torn 
hats and jackets. 

Ten minutes after the first drops had fallen scarcely 
any one could be seen in the street, even the police 
disappeared; and now the little darkey boys had a 
frolic. 

A heavy rain makes the best of shower-baths. 
Few of the native children have more than a single 


134 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

piece of clothing: a shirt, or an old coat borrowed 
from their elders. If this gets wet, it is easy for them 
to take it off and wait until it dries; but the more 
prudent take it off before coming out. 

Away they went, leaping, yelling, and running 
like young savages. The warm drops trickled over 
them and glazed their smooth, black skin as they 
dashed along in a glorious race, tripping each other 
into some muddy pool or slipping and tumbling on 
the wet ground. 

By this time the water had gathered on the lower 
levels. Tiny streams covered the road like the lines 
on a map, and the gardens became ponds knee-deep. 
Soon the house appeared to be standing in the middle 
of a lake, and an occasional cab splashing slowly 
by alone showed that the solid ground was still 
there. 

‘‘Why is it. Mother, that the water doesn’t run 
off?” asked Halde, who was growing tired of the 
dreary scene. 

“Water will not run up hill,” answered Mrs. 
Francis, smiling. 

“We know that. Mother.” 

“Then the rest is easy to understand. George- 
town lies on a flat strip of land, four feet below the 
level of the sea at high tide. A wall has been built 
along the coast to keep out the salt water. This 
wall also prevents the fresh water from escaping.” 



Copyright by B. L. Singley 

The Pickaninnies’ Candy-shop 

These Little Ones are as fond of Sugar-Cane as Loys and Halde are of Candy 











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The Rainy Season 135 

'‘And must it remain here until the sun dries it 
away 

"No; fortunately the tide of the ocean rises and 
falls. Sluices, or gates, have been placed at certain 
distances along the wall, and when the tide is out 
these gates are lifted and the city is drained. Where 
the water will not run off of itself they have pumping 
engines. I see by my paper that we will not have 
low tide until four o’clock to-day.” 

This was sad news for the boys, who wandered 
about the house trying to find something to do. 
Going back to their mother’s room, they asked 
the seamstress how long the rainy season would 
last. 

"About a month more. This is the short wet 
season.” 

"Mother, do you hear? The seamstress says it 
will rain a whole month longer. Isn’t that dread- 
ful!” 

"It will not rain all the time,” explained the 
woman. "In town the rainy season gives no trouble 
at all. You should see it in the country 1 ” she added 
with an expressive nod. 

"What does it do there?” 

"You can see the cattle in the pastures barely 
able to keep their heads above water, or floating 
around dead; last year some farmers lost as many 
as a hundred a day. The provision grounds are 


136 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

washed out, and the people sometimes are obliged 
to go about the villages in boats/’ 

“I think it is a pity it rains at all,” said Halde, 
feeling sorry for the cattle. 

‘‘Oh, my young master, we like the rain ! In the 
same fields where the cattle drown in the wet season, 
they die of thirst during the dry season. If we had 
no rain, what would we do for water to drink 

“There is plenty of water in the river.” 

“The sea makes it salt, and there are no wells 
here. The people have to store their water in vats 
like those in the garden.” 

“Can’t you tell us a Nancy story while it is rain- 
ing ?” begged Halde, who was growing restless. 

“Shall I tell you how Nancy paid his debts.?” 
asked the seamstress. 

“Oh, yes, do!” exclaimed both boys, sitting down 
beside her. 

“Well, Nancy had five friends: Bo Corn, Bo 
Fowl-cock, Bo Dog, Bo Tiger, and Bo Huntsman. 
They were all enemies to each other, but trusted 
Nancy. To each of these friends Nancy owed 
money, and you may be sure the old rogue soon 
found a way to fool them. For this he told them to 
come to his house on a certain day and arranged 
that one should follow the other. 

“Rap at the door. Nancy hollered out, ‘Who 
deh.?’ 


The Rainy Season 


137 


Corn.’ 

‘‘Nancy received Bo Corn politely, and after talk- 
ing a little while he suddenly exclaimed, ‘Me see 
Bo Fowl-cock cornin’ along de orange walk.’ 

“‘He no frien’ of mine. You go hide me quick!’ 
replied Bo Corn. 

“Nancy put Bo Corn in a big empty water jar and 
covered it with a lid. 

“Rap at the door. ‘Who deh?’ 

“‘Bo Fowl-cock.’ 

“Nancy asked Bo Fowl-cock to come in, saying, 
‘Dis am sure a day ob pleasure; Bo Corn done jest 
been here, and now you come.’ 

“‘Too bad I no see him, I kill dat Bo Corn for 
true!’ 

“Nancy, without a word, pointed to the water 
jar. In jumped the cock and ate the corn. 

“Rap at the door. ‘Who deh?’ 

“‘Bo Dog.’ 

“‘Bo Dog no frien’ of mine,’ whispered Bo Fowl- 
cock from the water jar. ‘You go put de lid over 
me quick !’ 

“Nancy put the cover on the jar and opened the 
door. ‘Hope you enjoy good health dis fine mornin’, 
Bo Dog,’ he said with a deep bow. ‘Bo Fowl-cock 
an’ me was jest talking ’bout you.’ 

“‘If I meet dat Bo Fowl-cock, he done neber 
speak again,’ growled Bo Dog, savagely. 


138 Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘As an answer, Nancy slyly nodded towards the 
water jar, and with a bound the dog jumped into the 
jar and ate up the fowl. 

“Just as he was about to come out, Nancy, shading 
his eyes with his hand, called to him: ‘Me see Bo 
Tiger cornin’ along. So true, yes, I do.’ 

“Bo Dog said: ‘Tiger an’ me no frien’. Me stay 
here till he go ’way.’ 

“Rap at the door. ‘Who deh 

“‘Bo Tiger.’ 

“Nancy opened the door. ‘You done look mighty 
tired. Bo Tiger. Me got good fresh water in datjar,’ 
he said, winking to his visitor. 

“The tiger jumped into the jar, and finding the 
dog, swallowed him up. He was still occupied with 
his meal when a shot was heard in the distance. 

“‘Ei, ei !’ cried Nancy, ‘dat am sure Bo Huntsman. 
He come dis way.’ 

“‘Dis same jar hide' me too well,’ answered Bo 
Tiger. ‘ Me stay here till he go ’way.’ 

“Rap at the door. ‘Who deh?’ 

“‘Bo Huntsman.’ 

“‘Come right dis way. Bo Huntsman. Come 
right dis way,’ said Nancy. ‘Mah goodness, but 
your hands am red wid blood. Bo Huntsman. You 
go hurry wash dem in dat water jar!’ 

“The hunter went to wash his hands, and when he 
saw the tiger, he shot him through the heart. 


The Rainy Season 139 

“^Dat Bo Tiger, he no dead yet. You take your 
knife and go after he,’ urged Nancy. 

“The hunter did as he was told, and while he was 
thus engaged, Nancy picked up Bo Huntsman’s gun 
and shot him dead — so it was that Nancy paid his 
debts,” ended the seamstress. “How do you like 
my story ” 

“I don’t like it a bit,” answered Halde. “I think 
Nancy was a very bad man.” 

While they were talking, the rain ceased as sud- 
denly as it had begun. In a few moments the dark 
sky had taken back its usual pale blue tint, and the 
sun was as hot as ever. The houses looked bright 
and clean after their drenching, the windows were 
opened and a pleasant air entered. But below, the 
water still lay waiting until the sea would give the 
signal for it to go. 

This came at four o’clock. At first only a ripple 
could be seen on the surface, then an eddy and 
finally a current was formed. The higher bushes 
emerged one by one. The red streets again appeared, 
and the flower borders and foot paths returned slowly 
to their places, until at last the flood settled into the 
trenches, where it was busy the rest of the day moving 
steadily towards the sea. 

By five o’clock the boys could take their usual 
walk. The sun had done its work as well as the rain, 
and there was neither dust nor mud. The streets 


140 Two Boys in the Tropics 

were filled with people. Darkey children amused 
themselves racing boats on the full trenches. Bits of 
bark, a leaf, or a stick were all they had, but there 
was as much rivalry and excitement as though they 
were sailing prize yachts. 

‘‘I think,” remarked Mr. Francis, when the family 
were enjoying their walk, “that you now know what 
the word drainage means. If the people of George- 
town had not drained their city, we would still be 
prisoners in the house.” 

“Yes,” agreed his wife, “and to-day we have seen 
our first tropical rain.” 


CHAPTER XVII 


COCOANUTS 

T he rainy season proved much pleasanter than 
the children had expected. Heavy showers 
came daily, and even several times a day, but 
after an hour or two of rain the hot sun would shine 
again, and quickly dry the ground. The flowers 
blossomed, the fruit ripened, and when the boys 
drove out, they saw the country looking so green that 
they soon understood why the people of the land 
were glad when the rainy season began. 

Early one morning, as Toys and Halde were taking 
advantage of some fine weather to play in the garden, 
a black boy stopped at the gate. He was dressed in 
a rice bag turned bottom upward, with a hole in the 
centre for his head, and one at each side for his arms 
to come through. Seeing that no one paid any 
attention to him, the boy entered the garden and said 
gravely : — 

‘‘Me be lookin’ for a business.” 

“There is no business here, we live in this house,” 
answered Toys. 


142 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

Would you no like your cocoanuts be taken down, 
young massa 

“Yes, indeed, we have been wanting them down 
all the time. But that isn’t a business, is it ?” 

“Of course dat be a business!” 

“Well, I must ask Father.” 

“Tell him dere be a gentleman at de gate dat will 
take down his cocoanuts very proper like for two bits.” 

Loys ran in and repeated the message, much to the 
surprise of Mr. Francis. 

“The gentleman must be laughing at you, my dear. 
I don’t think that a gentleman would climb a tree for 
money.” 

“He is really a black boy dressed in a funny brown 
bag, but he told me to say that he is a gentleman,” 
explained Loys. 

On hearing this, Mr. Francis went with Loys to 
the garden, and calling the boy, asked, “Are you the 
gentleman who is willing to pick our cocoanuts ?” 

“Me is, sir. Me pick dem for two bits and five 
dry cocoanuts.” 

“The seamstress said one bit is the price, but I 
suppose the services of a gentleman cost more.” 

“Oh, dem cheap niggers pick ’em any way! Me 
take ’em down superior.” 

“That is a high tree to climb.” 

“You jest done give me de instruments, an’ me 
climb dat tree for true.” 






Cocoanuts 


143 


“What do you need ?” 

“Me need one piece of rope.’’ 

“I will get it,” said Loys, who ran into the house 
and soon returned with the desired “instrument.” 

Having no coat to remove, nor sleeves to roll up, 
neither a hat nor shoes to trouble him, the darkey 
boy was soon ready to begin work. Cutting off 
about a yard of rope, he tied the ends together in a 
strong knot, then passing the rope around each foot 
at the instep, he stretched his feet apart so that the 
double line lay across the trunk of the tree. The 
rope thus held his feet pressed tightly against the 
bark whenever he bore his weight upon it, giving 
him a firm support. 

It was a difficult climb. The trunk was forty-two 
feet high, and so thick that the boy’s arms could 
not reach around it. Hugging the rough surface 
as best he could, he drew his knees forward, and after 
gaining a small space, rested on his feet while he 
caught higher with his hands; repeating the mo- 
tion until he gained the top, where, after kicking 
off the rope, he disappeared in the great cluster of 
leaves. 

Soon his voice was heard crying out for some one 
to keep watch. 

“I do not know what he means,” remarked Mr. 
Francis, puzzled at the request. 

“Sir,” said Carla, hurrying from the house, “I 


144 


Two Boys in the Tropics 


must stand in the street to keep people from coming 
too near the fence. If a cocoanut falls on your head, 
it can kill you.’’ 

This reminded Mr. Francis that picking cocoanuts 
was somewhat different from taking in a crop of 
apples at home. He had no sooner called the chil- 
dren to a safe distance and stationed Carla on guard 
than the nuts came tumbling in all directions. 

They made dents in the walks, buried themselves 
in the flower beds, crashed through the bushes, 
jumped, bounced, and rolled along the ground, doing 
no end of damage. Even an iron point of the gate 
was broken off by a cocoanut’s falling upon it. Mrs. 
Francis, whom the noise brought to the window, 
became nervous lest there should be an accident. 

“Mother, this is a battle, and these are the cannon- 
balls,” shouted Halde. 

“I hope no one will be wounded,” replied Mrs. 
Francis. 

It looked as if this might easily happen; for, in 
spite of Carla’s warning, a crowd of black children 
had gathered outside in hopes of getting a few stray 
nuts. When one fell upon the road, half a dozen 
boys would dart after it, and in their struggles quite 
forget that another might follow at any moment. 

After the higher bunches were twisted off, a number 
of nuts still remained at the base of the tuft. These 
were so thickly overhung by the great leaves that it 


Cocoanuts 


H5 


seemed impossible to reach them. Presently two 
bare feet were seen emerging from the green cluster. 
The boy, straddling one of the thick leaf-branches, 
began kicking at the low nuts with his heels. In this 
way he went around the tree until all the nuts had 
fallen. 

Sliding to the ground was an easy matter for one 
who did not mind the rough trunk — here the coarse 
rice bag was of service. The rope was not needed 
for the descent. 

The danger being over, about a dozen of the 
children outside rushed through the gate and offered 
to carry the nuts into the house. Carla quickly 
ordered them back, but did not succeed in getting 
the yard cleared until the foremost had managed to 
run off with some of the spoils. A black policeman 
finally came and scattered the crowd, and Carla 
triumphantly took the nuts into the store-room. 
There were seventy-three in all, and as cocoanuts 
can be picked twice a year, this would make a hun- 
dred and forty-six nuts that the tree could bear each 
year. 

Loys and Halde begged Carla to open a nut that 
they might taste the milk and jelly. She took one 
still green, and getting a large knife from the 
kitchen, cut away the husk and bored through the 
thin shell. 

The milk filled a tumbler. It looked like whitish 


146 Two Boys in the Tropics 

water and tasted sweet. The jelly resembled thick 
cream. It could easily be seen that the milk, the 
jelly, and later the hard pulp are the same; the only 
difference being that the last has become older and 
firmer than the first. This fine-flavored white pulp, 
for which the cocoanut is so much valued, serves to 
give the young tree food until the shell breaks and 
the roots fasten themselves into the ground. 

Mr. Francis paid the boy his two bits and gave 
him the five dry cocoanuts he had bargained for. 
The dry nuts are those in which the pulp is hard, and 
are the only ones that are sent to other countries. 
The transaction over. Toys went with the cocoanut 
picker to see him off. 

“Look, a boat !” exclaimed the boy, as he reached 
the gate. 

“Where?” 

The boy showed Loys a brown pod that had fallen 
from the cocoanut tree. It was about a foot long 
and pointed at one end like a canoe, while the other 
end, where the stem had been attached, remained 
open. This was really not a pod at all, but a spathe; 
the difference being that pods hold the seeds of 
plants and spathes cover their flowers. 

Whatever its use, the spathe made as pretty a 
canoe as any one could desire. High at each end, 
it curved down towards the middle, and its smooth, 
ribbed surface looked as if finished by a careful 


Cocoanuts 


H7 


workman. One might easily believe that the Indians 
had taken these spathes as the model of their bark 
canoes. 

‘‘I wish it was closed at the other end/’ said Loys, 
as he stood admiring it. 

‘‘Me will soon do dat, if you get me a big needle/’ 
answered the boy. 

Loys ran upstairs and asked his mother for the 
needle. 

“You must first have your breakfast,” she an- 
swered, “and meanwhile the boy may go to the 
kitchen and get something to eat.” 

During breakfast Loys was so quiet that his father 
asked him the reason. 

“I am thinking of James,” he replied. 

“Who is James.?” 

“The black boy downstairs. He is a very intelli- 
gent boy.” 

“How so.?” 

“You saw the way he climbed the tree, and he 
also knows how to make a boat.” 

“Indeed!” 

“Yes, Father. You have often told me that all 
knowledge is not found in books; his knowledge is 
not in books, but it is very useful. Had he not 
known how to climb the tree, we could not have 
gotten the cocoanuts.” 

“ He has what is called practical knowledge.” 


148 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

Loys, encouraged by his father’s answer, brought 
out the request he had wished to make since the 
beginning of the conversation, ‘‘Will you let him 
come every day and teach us things. Father?” 

“Oh, Loys, that is not a boy for you to play with !” 
objected his mother. 

“If he only had a suit of clothes, he would be a 
very nice boy,” affirmed Loys, stoutly. 

“If that is all he needs,” said Mr. Francis, smiling, 
“I will give him one of my old suits; the seamstress 
can alter it to fit him. But we must find out whether 
he has a good character. Otherwise he may teach 
you more harmful things than good ones.” 

The boys hurried off to tell James of his good 
fortune and to watch him finish the boat. 

The black boy asked for a kitchen knife and went 
through the garden with a grand air collecting his 
“instruments.” He began by cutting a thick, pointed 
leaf about a yard long from a plant growing near the 
fence. 

“What is that for?” inquired Loys. 

“String!” was the brief reply. 

The children looked on in wonder as James 
stripped the leaf and removed from its wet pulp 
long fibres that were as strong and smooth as 
coarse thread. These he laid in the sun to dry. 
He next picked up some of the cocoanut leaves 
strewn below the tree and took out their midribs, 


Cocoanuts 


149 

which were about half a yard long and very flexible. 
He also cut some of the leaves into strips. 

“Me mus’ hab a little pine wood for de seats and 
de paddles/’ he remarked. 

“Which tree is that.?” 

“It no grow here, but de cook hab some pieces to 
light de coal-pot.” 

The pine wood was brought, and James, having 
finished his preparations, trimmed the stem end of the 
spathe and sewed it shut with the fibre and needle. 
Next pine seats at the middle and rear end were 
fitted in. Between these the ribs of cocoanut leaf 
were bent to form a round awning about four inches 
high. Other ribs were placed lengthwise, and 
on these were laid strips of leaves, making a 
pretty thatched roof. The whole was sewn tight 
or bound with fibre, and two paddles completed the 
canoe. 

“You forgot the sail !” criticised Halde. 

“Wood-skins hab no sails, you paddles ’em.” 

“What is a wood-skin?” asked Toys. 

“When a boat be of bark, Indians call dat same 
boat a wood-skin.” 

“What a funny name!” 

“Ain’t bark de skin of a tree, an’ ain’t a tree wood ? 
Dat makes wood-skin for true.” 

“So it does! The Indians must be clever to 
think of that.” 


150 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘Of course dey clever. How dey live without 
clever ? Dey hah no Buckra to tink for dey.’’ 

“Who are the Buckra?” 

“White men. Indians make sail, too, out of 
reeds tied together wid fibre. But dem sail be only 
used for dug-outs.” 

“I don’t know what a dug-out is.” 

“A boat. She make of tree, dug out.” 

“Dug out of the ground ?” 

“ Ei, ei ! Dey cuts ’em down first, to be sure, an’ 
den dey digs ’em out wid an axe, or burns ’em out 
de shape of a boat. You don’t know much for true, 
young massa.” 

“I know many things that you don’t!” replied 
Loys, offended. “Now I suppose you think the sun 
rises every morning. ” 

“Ebery fool know dat.” 

“Well, it doesn’t!” 

“Ei, ei ! what Nancy story you tell deh ?” 

In a few minutes the boys’ discussion grew so 
loud that Mr. Francis came down and, to end the 
quarrel, sent James away. 

Loys went to his mother, and after telling her what 
had happened, said: “I think you were right to be 
careful. James has a very bad character.” 

“No, my boy. James was boasting a little, which 
is not polite; still it does not show a bad character. 
Though you blame him, you did the same.” 


Cocoanuts 


151 

Meanwhile Halde had made a new play, setting 
up some tenpins and knocking them down by rolling 
one of the big cocoanuts at them. Mr. Francis 
picked it up and called the boys to him : — 

“You, Loys, bring the scales and let Halde fetch 
the weights. We will find out what burden our 
cocoanut tree had to carry.” 

The boys did as requested, and the cocoanut, which 
was of an average size, was found to weigh twelve 
pounds. 

“Now, there were seventy-three nuts on the tree,” 
continued Mr. Francis, “and we can count each nut 
as twelve pounds. Which of you can tell me how 
many pounds that makes ?” 

“Eight hundred and seventy-six pounds,” cried 
Loys, after a little while. 

“Good! And if to this we add the weight of 
the leaf-branches, it would make over a thousand 
pounds.” 

“No wonder our poor cocoanut tree couldn’t stand 
up straight 1” exclaimed Halde, who was still panting 
from the exertion of his game. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


IN A TROPICAL GARDEN 

A fter the wet weather began, scarcely a day 
passed that the boys did not find some new 
curiosity in the garden. 

One morning Mr. Francis called them down- 
stairs. ‘‘Here is a strange plant,’’ he said, pointing 
to a bunch of leaves springing from the tops of several 
green bulbs that were fastened by white tendrils to 
the bark of a tree. 

Two flowers hung on a forked stem that grew 
from another bulb. They were in the form of a flat- 
bottomed cup, two inches deep and two and a half 
wide. The rim of each was rolled back and stippled 
with reddish brown spots, while the rest of the cup was 
cream-white. At the front rose a glistening, orange- 
colored mass about the size and shape of a man’s 
finger; and opposite to this, where the stem started, 
fluttered two gauzy pink wings. A delicate bridge 
spanned the top, joining the rear of the cup with 
the orange horn in front. In the middle of the 
bridge were two points from which drops of a sweet, 
152 



The Helmet Orchid 



The Lady-slipper Orchid 





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In a Tropical Garden 153 

sticky liquid were constantly falling into the cup 
below. 

‘‘Is it really a flower/’ whispered Halde, “or a liz- 
ard, or a young dragon just hatched ?” 

“ It is a flower, and you have not yet seen the most 
singular part of it.” Mr. Francis lifted the boys in 
turn, so that they could look into the cup, where some 
bright green flies were busy sipping the liquid it 
contained. 

“Now I will explain what a cunning flower this is. 
Here, at the back, near the bottom of the cup, is an 
opening where the seeds and a yellow dust called 
pollen are formed. The seeds must be covered over 
with pollen to make them grow; and how do you 
suppose this is done ?” 

“Tell us. Father.” 

“These green flies carry it.” 

“Oh, Father! the flies could not know about the 
yellow powder and the seeds.” 

“The flies* do the work without knowing about 
them. This brilliant yellow horn shines through the 
leaves of the forest and attracts the flies. They 
settle upon the horn, crawl on the bridge, and taste 
the drop of liquid. Many come, crowd each other, 
and buzz down to the bottom of the cup, where they 
sip their fill. Their feast ended, they seek a way 
out, find this hole at the back of the cup, and 
creep through it, at the same time brushing oiF the 


154 Two Boys in the Tropics 

pollen dust which remains sticking to their wet 
heads/’ 

‘‘But how do they put the dust on the seeds ?” 

“In time they get hungry, go into a flower as 
before, and again wish to leave. The place where 
the seeds are kept is sticky, and when the fly’s head 
touches it the dust is taken off. Then, presto ! the 
seeds begin to swell, grow, and ripen, until they are 
scattered by the winds or dropped by birds into the 
rough bark of trees, to become new plants.” 

“I did not know a flower could be so clever,” 
said Loys. 

“This kind of plant is called an orchid, and the 
one you see is named the Helmet orchid, because 
the cup with its rolled brim is shaped somewhat 
like the bronze helmets that soldiers of old used to 
wear. 

“All orchids have odd shapes, and most of them 
have bright colors or a strong perfume in order to 
attract the insects that carry the pollen to their 
flowers. Each orchid has a special kind of insect 
to do this for it. Some have ants, some wasps, 
others bees, moths, or butterflies. Ours has this 
bright green fly that I have never seen about the 
garden until the flower was in bloom. From where 
the fly comes, or how it finds the plants when they 
are in town far from the places where they usually 
grow, is another wonder that cannot be explained.” 


In a Tropical Garden 155 

Halde, who never remained long quiet, had been 
wandering about the walks and now ran up, saying, 
“I see plenty of orchids on other trees; and isn’t it 
funny, a mango tree is bearing orchids also ?” 

“No tree bears orchids. They are separate plants, 
and simply live on trees as you live in a house. They 
thrive equally well if tied to a piece of rough dead 
wood, and in this way can be taken to distant coun- 
tries. 

“Sometimes they are hung in lattice boxes filled 
with broken brick and dead moss. All that they 
need is a support for their white tendrils, warm, 
moist air, and light. In the forests they are mostly 
found on the banks of rivers and creeks; and many 
are so covered by ants that collectors are obliged to 
tow them long distances in the water behind their 
boats to get rid of the little pests.” 

“What do the plants live on ?” asked Loys. 

“Air, water, and sunlight.” 

“It is certainly a queer flower, to be able to live 
on nothing at all.” 

“Do you call air and water nothing.?” 

“Loys, Loys!” called Halde, ‘‘come here. Do 
look at this dear little bird, its feathers shine like the 
stones in Mother’s ring.” 

“Where is it .?” asked Loys, joining his brother. 

“There. It has its bill in that white flower. Its 
wings quiver like a bee’s. Now it is gone!” 


156 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

“It must be a humming-bird. Never mind, you 
will see one some other time,’’ said Mr. Francis. 

“I see it again,” shouted Halde, “on that tiny 
branch. It is smoothing its feathers with its bill, 
just as if it were a real bird.” 

“It is a real bird,” returned Toys. “I see it too. 
Doesn’t it shine ? Its back is bright green, and its 
breast is red, like copper. It is following a little 
butterfly, and now snaps it up. Halde, why do you 
think the bird isn’t real ?” 

“ Because it is so pretty, just like a fairy.” 

“ Being a real bird does not make it less pretty, 
does it ?” 

“No, but if it were a fairy, it might do all kinds of 
things for us.” 

“ Knowledge is our modern fairy, Halde,” said his 
father. “Come upstairs, and I will tell you a story 
I have read about a plant and a bird.” 

When they were seated in the cool gallery, 
Mr. Francis began: “Humming-birds live partly 
on honey and are fond of bell-shaped flowers, in 
which they can put their long bills. Their tongues 
are made of two hollow tubes placed side by side. 
They suck through these as you might through two 
straws. 

“In the same country where humming-birds live 
is a vine orchid called the vanilla. It takes root in 
the earth and climbs by its tendrils up the trees, from 



Coolie Women and Children working in the Fields 









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In a Tropical Garden 157 

which it hangs in loose festoons. Its flowers are 
white, bell-shaped, and sweet smelling. Humming- 
birds love these beautiful clusters and thrust their 
bills into the deep cups to feed, at the same time 
carrying the yellow powder from plant to plant, as 
insects do for other orchids. Could anything be 
prettier than the plant feeding the bird and the bird 
in turn helping the plant to grow ? Could a fairy 
do more 

‘‘No, Father, it is almost as if the dear little birds 
were fairies; maybe they are.’’ 

“Yet with the aid of knowledge we do not need the 
humming-bird’s help. The seeds of the vanilla 
grow in a pod, which, on account of its fine flavor, 
is used in cooking. For this reason the vine is 
much sought after, and people tramped the woods 
with great difficulty collecting the beans. Then it 
was found that vanilla could be grown in quantities 
like other plants, provided the vines had trees to 
support them; but who could make the birds come 
and do their part of the work r* 

“ Build a cage around the vines,” suggested Halde. 

“A simpler way was discovered. Some one tried 
shaking the pollen on the part where the seeds lay 
hidden, and when the life-giving dust touched them, 
the seeds swelled and grew, just as in their native 
forests. Now, large plantations of vanilla are 
cultivated, not only in South America, but also in 


158 Two Boys in the Tropics 

the Pacific Islands and India, where no humming- 
birds live. Each morning the planters go through 
the rows of vines, sprinkling the yellow pollen from 
flower to flower; for although the plants can be 
raised from cuttings, the seeds and their pods will 
never form without pollen.’’ 

Mr. Francis went out, and the children played in 
the dining room. When the cocoanuts had been 
taken down, a number of young ones, no larger than 
a walnut, fell with the others. These the boys used 
for marbles. They were rather big, and not very 
round, but were good enough to practise with. 
Loys had seen in the streets a new way of playing 
marbles and wished to learn it. 

The marble is held between the thumb and first 
finger, or the first and second fingers, of the left hand. 
Then the first or the second finger of the right hand 
is placed behind it, pressed back and brought sud- 
denly forward, which gives force enough to drive 
the marble thirty feet or more. It is difficult to aim 
with certainty, but many children become exceed- 
ingly skilful at hitting the mark. 

Loys and Halde missed every shot, and hearing 
James in the kitchen, they asked their mother if he 
might come and show them how to aim. 

‘‘If you do not quarrel,” assented Mrs. Francis. 

“You pitch marbles wid cocoanuts, ei, ei!” ex- 
claimed James, on entering the room. “You give 



Copyright by B. L. Singley 

Coolie Boys on a West Indian Farm 

They have brought their Humped Cattle from their Native Land. The Picture in the Upper Right- 

hand Corner shows the Coolie Way of pitching Marbles 



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In a Tropical Garden 159 

me a bit, me buy real marbles and show you how to 
pitch superior/’ 

Halde ran to his mother and soon returned with 
fourpence. James took the money, and going as 
far as the gate, changed it for some marbles that he 
already had in his pocket. These he brought to 
the boys. Then marking a circle on the floor and 
placing five marbles within it, he explained the rules 
of the game : — 

‘‘Me let you stand here, me go way back here. 
De little massa pitch three times, you twice, me once, 
each round. Dat’s what we call odds; me is a 
gentleman. What you hit you takes, what me hits 
me takes, all fair. Now begin.” 

The children were satisfied with this arrangement; 
but as James never missed, and they never hit, the 
marbles soon followed the bit into his pocket. 

“We do not play marbles in this way at home,” 
said Toys, a little ashamed of his lack of skill. 

“Dis am de coolie way. White people no play 
dis way, neither black people, except dey learn.” 

“What is a coolie .?” 

“Dat am a fool question,” replied James; “a 
coolie am a coolie.” 

“It is not a foolish question, but it is a foolish, 
answer. There comes Father, I will ask him.” 

“A coolie,” explained Mr. Francis, “is a laborer 
brought from India or China. In the Hindustani 


i6o Two Boys in the Tropics 

language the word means a laborer. There are 
many of them working on the sugar estates here.’’ 

^‘Father, let James show you how they shoot 
marbles.” 

James put a marble on the floor, and aiming at 
it from a distance of two yards, hit it with such force 
that it broke in two. Pleased by the praise he re- 
ceived for his skill, the boy then drew a sling shot 
from his pocket, placed a marble in it, and going to 
the window, pointed it at a little kiskadi sitting on the 
garden fence. Suddenly he let the elastic snap and 
sent the marble straight for the bird, striking it dead. 

‘‘How cruel!” cried Halde. “Father, why did 
you let him do it?” 

“I did not know he intended to kill the bird. 
James, you put your sling shot to a very bad use.” 

“Don’t fret, massa, plenty more birds.” 

“Suppose some one were to kill you and say, 
‘ Plenty more boys,’ would you like it?” 

“Ei, ei! massa, me’s no bird.” 

“How could you do it!” said Loys, indignantly. 

“Me show you how;” and James began to put 
another marble in place. 

“No, no! I don’t mean that. Father, do send 
James way.” 

“Now ain’t dese Buckra queer,” remarked James, 
talking to himself as he walked off. “De fuss dey 
make is bigger ’an de bird heself.” 


In a Tropical Garden i6i 

“Father/’ said Loys, thoughtfully, before going 
to bed that evening, “I have been thinking of James, 
and I believe he did not even know he had been cruel. 
How can that be ?” 

“Because he thought only of himself and not of 
the bird. If we wish to be just, we must think of 
the feelings of others.” 


M 


CHAPTER XIX 


ORCHIDS AND VINES 

A fter the day they saw the Helmet orchid, 
the boys ran to the garden the first thing every 
morning in search of other flowers. Some 
time passed when Halde found an orchid even more 
beautiful than the Helmet. 

‘‘Oh, Father, oh, Loysie, do come! Here are 
Cinderella’s slippers. Surely a fairy must have made 
them.” 

When Mr. Francis saw the plant, he was as much 
pleased as the little fellow. Mother also had to be 
called to look at this new wonder. 

It was what is known as the Lady’s-slipper orchid. 
As with the Helmet, two winged flowers hung from 
a long, forked stem. They were really just like tiny 
slippers with pointed toes, and looked as if made of 
shining milk-white glass, with a touch of red on the 
top edges. These dainty flower-shoes measured 
three inches in length. 

Mr. Francis became so much interested in orchids 
that one day, seeing a quantity for sale, he bought a 
cart-load of them. They were already growing on 
162 


Orchids and Vines 


163 

pieces of wood and could be hung in the gallery. 
There are at least a hundred different kinds of 
orchids found in British Guiana, and though his 
collection was not complete, it contained many 
varieties. 

Some of the blossoms were as delicate as rose 
leaves and withered in a few hours; others remained 
in bloom for a month or two. One plant threw out 
a whiplike shoot three yards long, with branches 
bearing each from five to ten flowers the shape and 
size of yellow bees. More than three hundred could 
be counted on a single plant; and this swarm of 
flower-bees did not fade for six weeks. A large 
cluster of purple-red blossoms was equally lasting, 
and a bunch of flowers which looked like violet 
velvet sprinkled with gold dust continued bright and 
fresh even longer. 

“Father,’’ asked Toys one day, ‘‘could we not 
send orchid seeds to Auntie and let her plant them 
at home ” 

“We could do so, but it requires time, patience, 
and great skill to raise orchids from the seed. What 
would you think of waiting seventeen years for a 
plant to blossom ? A special house must be built 
where the same heat and dampness can be kept up 
all that time, before even one little bud appears.” 

“No person would take as much trouble as that.” 

“It has been done, and many fine and new varieties 


164 Two Boys in the Tropics 

are produced in this way. However, an easier plan 
is to divide the plant itself. A good-sized plant can be 
broken into two or three pieces, each one of which 
will increase and flower until it can be again divided. 
From England men are sent at great expense all over 
the world to collect orchids. We were fortunate in 
being able to get ours with so little trouble.’’ 

‘‘Father, you are very right to get orchids,” in- 
terrupted Halde, “but it will be just as hard to get 
animals, and monkeys, and birds, when we go back 
to the States; and yet you do not buy any of them 
for us.” 

“That is true, Halde,” assented Mr. Francis, 
“ and when I see an animal for sale you may be sure 
I will not let the chance go by.” 

“Thank you. Father, I like curiosities that are 
alive.” 

“Are not plants alive?” 

“Yes, but I mean those that move around and do 
things.” 

The gallery was a pretty sight. Besides the orchids, 
it contained a number of ferns and small palms; 
while vines crept up from the garden through the 
open windows, each bringing a bouquet in season. 

Many of these vine flowers are bell-shaped and 
of the most gorgeous hues: flaming yellow, deep 
crimson, white, pink, blue, lilac, and purple, growing 
in clusters that would alone make a nosegay. 



Courtesy of the American Geographical Society 

Pulling through the Rapids 

These Men are on their Way Home from the Gold Mines 
















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Orchids and Vines 165 

South America is a land of vines. In the forests 
you see them as slender as whip-cords, or as thick 
as a man’s body. Tough and rugged, or green and 
tender, you find them running up, down, or across 
the trees, forming such a tangle that it is a puzzle to 
tell which end is top or bottom. Sprouting from 
the ground, they reach to the top of the highest mora; 
but if a bird drops seed in a notch above, they climb 
downwards and take root below. They seem to 
care as little about their position as would a monkey. 
Even plants that are stay-at-home and well behaved 
in other countries take to climbing in the tropics 
like a schoolboy. 

Mr. Francis pointed out to the boys one of these 
emancipated vines in the garden. “Do you remem- 
ber the lilies at Bywater.?” he said, “stiff-looking 
plants, a few feet or less in height. They are in- 
side growers, and inside growers are usually stiff. 
What do you think of this Southern lily?” 

The children saw some starlike flowers. Those 
just opened were of a pale green that deepens into 
a flame-colored mixture of yellow and scarlet as they 
grow older. Each leaf ended in a curling tendril 
by which the plant could hold on, and to the chil- 
dren’s surprise this lily, as if ashamed to be out of 
the fashion, was awkwardly climbing with many 
joints and angles after its vine neighbors. 

“The large vines of the forest are called bush- 


i66 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

rope,’’ continued Mr. Francis, “and are stronger 
than any rope. One of my friends, a gold-digger, 
built a small cabin in the interior. A clearing had 
to be made around the cabin, and he set men to 
felling trees. These were tightly interlaced with 
bush-rope, and after one of the trees had been cut 
through, it swung above the cabin roof, held in mid- 
air by a vine. 

“The surrounding trees were difficult to climb and 
the vines formed such a tangle that no one knew 
where to begin cutting in order to release the tree. 
Near the top of the hanging tree was an open space 
where an axe could have made its way through the 
bush-rope; however, the man cutting it would have 
fallen with the tree.” 

“What did your friend do, move the cabin.?” 
asked Halde, who believed in decisive measures. 

“Wherever he would build it, trees must be felled, 
and the same thing might happen again. He found 
another way out of the trouble, — like the way you 
wanted me to get cocoanuts.” 

“Did he shoot the tree down. Father.?” 

“He sent a ball with his rifle into the middle of 
the vine and made a hole through it large enough 
to show daylight; however, the fibres still held. 
Another ball cut to the right of the hole; and yet, 
though not more than one inch of wood remained, 
there was no sign of its breaking. Still another cut 


Orchids and Vines 


167 

to the left; then the whole mass swung slowly away 
from the cabin, and the weight of the tree gradually 
sank it lower and lower, until the men were able to 
manage jt.” 

“I wish your friend would come and tell us stories. 
What else did he do?” 

“He shot pumas, monkeys, and big snakes, and 
he told me another singular thing about these bush- 
ropes. Some of them prepare for the dry season 
by filling their porous fibres with water, as the camel 
fills his stomachs. Travelers frequently satisfy 
their thirst by tapping these vegetable water-carriers. 
My friend cut again and again into different ones, 
without ever getting a drop of water, until he finally 
thought the account was a fable. At last he spoke 
to his boat captain, an old woodsman, on the sub- 
ject. The man said there were plenty such vines 
near by. 

have tried all that are about here,’ replied my 

friend. 

“‘That one over there ?’ 

“‘Yes.’ 

“What was my friend’s surprise, when the man 
went and cut out a piece of vine about three feet long, 
which in a few moments was dripping with water. 

“Then my friend remembered that he had always 
made but a single cut in each vine; and as no air 
could enter, the water would not flow.” 


i68 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

would like to go into the interior/’ said Loys, 
as his father finished the story. 

“The forest is too dangerous for boys. People 
are obliged to travel most of the way in open boats. 
There are falls in the rivers over which the boats 
must leap, and plenty of alligators always ready to 
snap up any one who might fall overboard. 

“You sleep in hammocks, exposed to all kinds of 
weather; and in the morning when you pick up your 
boots you are likely to see a scorpion or a venomous 
black spider jump out of them. On- the trail, pumas, 
jaguars, and snakes help to make the journey lively; 
and if you escape all these dangers there is still the 
deadly fevers of the tropics which may attack you. 
It would be impossible for you to bear such traveling, 
but we can bring the interior to us.” 

“ How it that, F ather ? ” 

“ By collecting all the animals, plants, and interest- 
ing things we can find.” 


CHAPTER XX 


HUMMING-BIRDS AND ANTS 

O NE morning Toys was seen in the arbor at the 
end of the garden making signs for the family 
to come. 

“Look/’ he whispered, as they joined him, “it 
is a humming-bird’s nest, and the little mother is 
sitting upon it.” 

So many visitors frightened the bird. She flew 
away, giving them an opportunity to examine the 
nest. It was the size of a walnut and built of earth 
mixed with silk-cotton fibres — this is a material like 
the down on thistle seeds. The inside, too, had 
been partly filled with silk-cotton, and upon this 
soft bed lay two tiny white eggs, e^ch a quarter of an 
inch long. The walls of the nest were smoothly 
finished on the outside, and the whole was neatly 
fitted into a forked branch of a vine. 

“It is made of the shell dust in the walk, which 
gives it this pale yellow color,” said Mr. Francis. 
“But come away, the little mother is anxious to 
get back. Do you see her?” 

169 


170 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘Yes, over there. She is not as pretty as the one 
I found the other day,” remarked Halde; “she is 
green all over.” 

“Not all over, Halde. Her wings are black and 
the middle of the tail is black with a brown feather 
on each side.” 

“Hasn’t she a long bill!” exclaimed Loys. 

“I have seen them as long as the bird itself, though 
not here. There are no less than four hundred 
different kinds of humming-birds, and some have 
been given pretty names, such as Wood-star, Sun- 
beam, Flame-bearer, Emerald, Sapphire, Comet, 
Hermit, and Coquette. An old French writer calls 
them ‘gilded birds,’ and an Englishman speaks of 
them as ‘flying gems.’ Even the ancient Mexicans 
and Peruvians had words for them in their language 
meaning ‘Rays of the Sun’ and ‘Tresses of the 
Day-star.’” 

The boys now had a new interest in the garden, 
where they watched the nest daily„ If the mother 
bird left her eggs to get a moth or a drop of honey 
to eat, the father bird sat upon the nest until her 
return. Finally, out came two little things no bigger 
than bees. 

When learning to fly, one of the baby birds lodged 
in a cobweb, and a great fat spider began spinning 
threads around it until the poor little thing could not 
even flutter. Loys, seeing the danger, ran and 


Humming-birds and Ants 171 

brought a broom with which he gently set the prisoner 
free. 

It was funny to watch the little birds gravely 
sitting on the tip of a branch small enough for their 
tiny feet to hold, looking for flies and moths. Their 
eyes, no bigger than pinheads, were quick to see; 
and nothing passed by without their whizzing after 
it like a swift ball of feathers blown by the wind. 
Though their wings were so delicate they could hold 
themselves in the air, quivering before a flower and 
sucking until the cup was empty. The only thing 
that these feathered jewels lack is the gift of song. 
Their voice is very faint and resembles the chirp 
of a young chicken. 

When the nest was empty, Mr. Francis allowed 
the boys to cut down the branch and hang it in the 
gallery. 

‘‘Would you like to see a great quantity of hum- 
ming-birds he asked as they finished their task. 

“Yes, indeed, where could we find them.?’’ 

“We would have to travel a good deal to see them 
all; for though the greater number and the most 
beautiful live in the tropics, they are scattered over 
the American continent, from Terra del Fuego in 
the south to Alaska in the north. What I mean is 
for us to go to the public library where there is a 
fine book on humming-birds.” 

“I would rather travel about,” remarked Halde. 


172 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘I would like to look at the book, and when we 
travel we can search for humming-birds also,’’ said 
his brother. 

“Very well, we will go to-morrow to the library.” 

It was a wonderful book, filled with pictures of 
humming-birds, so well done that even the lustre of 
their shining feathers was perfect. Their tiny 
nests, the bright flowers among which they feed, and 
bits of the Southern countries where so many of them 
live were also given. It was almost the same as 
seeing the living birds. 

Mr. Francis told the children to look with their 
eyes and not with their hands, and turned the leaves 
himself that the book might not be soiled. 

“To destroy or mar a work of this kind,” he ex- 
plained, “is like killing or wounding it, and we must 
think of the trouble and labor some one has taken 
to create it.” 

“How long do you suppose it required to make 
this book.?” asked Loys. 

“Here is something the author, Mr. John Gould, 
has written of the time he spent upon it: ‘Twelve 
years of incessant labor and not less than twenty 
years of interesting study.’ What do you think 
of that?” 

“He must have been very tired,” answered Halde. 

“Very likely he was at times, but he adds that his 
pleasure on seeing a humming-bird was as great 


173 


Humming-birds and Ants 

at the end of the twenty years as at the beginning. 
He had great love and great patience.’’ 

They had spent an hour very pleasantly at the 
library, when Mr. Francis said, ‘Mt is enough for 
one time, but we will come again, for you must re- 
member that a thing which takes a long time to make 
should take a long time to see.” 

A few days later the boys had an experience which 
gave them an idea of at least one of the hardships 
that beset the traveler in South America. One 
morning they asked their mother if Carla might 
carry their chocolate and toast into the arbor. Mrs. 
Francis having no objection, they brought out a 
small table and two chairs. 

‘Ht is almost like Robinson Crusoe,” said Loys, 
as they seated themselves, “and nicer than being 
in the house.” 

“Yes, if we only had some animals about to make 
us feel lively. Poor Sapajou!” Halde had scarcely 
finished speaking when he began jumping up and 
down. 

“What is the matter.'^” inquired Loys. 

“Something is biting me. Oh, Loysie, look inside 
my coat, on my arms, now on my back. Do hurry !” 

Before Loys could do anything for his brother, he 
also felt himself bitten, and began to shout and jump, 
until the noise brought Carla and Mrs. Francis to 
the arbor. 


174 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘I see nothing, what can it be!’’ exclaimed Mrs. 
Francis, frightened without knowing why. 

“Stinging ants,” answered Carla, briefly. “Go 
quickly to the bath-room and I will get you other 
clothes.” 

The table had been put near an ants’ nest, and 
the insects, being annoyed, had come out in a body 
to fight off the little Yankees. Chairs, table legs, 
as well as the boys’ feet, made good roads for the 
attacking party; and in a moment they were swarm- 
ing up trousers and sleeves, or down backs, stinging 
as they went, and no amount of jumping could shake 
them off. 

It was only by rubbing the flesh hard with a towel 
that the ants could be dislodged; after which the 
boys’ clothes were hUng in the sun where the heat 
shriveled up the little pests like fire. 

Fortunately the sting of this kind of ant is not harm- 
ful. The pain was soon over, and the boys began 
to feel hungry. Carla, going for their breakfast, 
found the ants foraging the conquered camp. Hun- 
dreds were busy carrying away the bread crumb by 
crumb, and a large ball of them formed an island 
in each cup of chocolate. 

“Ants do not spoil anything, they are clean beasts,” 
said Carla, as she brought in the food covered by 
this creeping mass. “I will soon clear them out, 
and the breakfast will be as good as ever.” 


Humming-birds and Ants 175 

“ Certainly not, Carla ! The boys must have 
something else/’ 

‘‘Oh, ma’am, ants are nothing, you will soon get 
used to them. But if the young masters don’t 
want their breakfast, I will take it myself. See, there 
is not one left.” 

When Mr. Francis heard of their adventure, he 
asked Halde if he was pleased. 

“Why should I be pleased. Father ? The ants sting 
like nettles.” 

“I thought you liked curiosities that are alive and 
do things. Not less than seventy different kinds 
of ants live in British Guiana, so you can make a nice 
collection.” 

“You would have laughed had you seen us,” 
said Loys. “Halde was just wishing for some 
animals to make us lively, when the ants came, and 
we both began to dance like mad.” 

“Ants are not animals,” corrected Halde. “I 
still want animals, if you can get them, but no one 
could take an interest in nasty, creeping, stinging 
little ants.” 

“You are mistaken, Halde, people who have 
studied ants find them very interesting; but I do not 
wonder you have seen enough of them for the pres- 
ent.” 

Later in the day Dr. Davis, a gentleman who lived 
near Georgetown, called on Mr. Francis, and hear- 


176 Two Boys in the Tropics 

ing of the ants’ attack, told how he had been plagued 
by them in the country. 

‘‘I wished to see if I could raise apples, pears, and 
peaches in this climate, and sent to the States for 
a number of small trees. When .they came I planted 
them in boxes on the shady side of the house. Green 
leaves soon appeared, but in a short time they were 
eaten off by a swarm of ants that had a nest near by. 

‘‘As this was the best place for my plantation, I had 
the nest thoroughly dug up and spread under the 
hot sun; still the ants came. I had it heaped over 
with brushwood and lighted a fire which burned for 
several hours; still they came. I had a gutter run 
from the river and flooded the nest; still they came. 
Then I surrounded the plantation with a trench of 
running water which made it into an island. This 
was quite a labor, but ants cannot cross a stream 
and I felt I should be now rid of them. You can 
imagine my astonishment when after a few days 
the little creatures were as busy on my plants as 
before. 

“I walked carefully around my island to see if 
any blocks of earth or any branches or leaves had 
made a bridge for them to cross the water; it was 
running clear on every side. 

“As I stood thinking out this puzzle, I noticed a 
tree that had been included in the space surrounded 
by my ditch, and up and down the trunk of which 



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Humming-birds and Ants 


177 


the ants seemed to be endlessly running. My eyes 
followed them higher and higher, until I could no 
longer see their little bodies, but I found how the ants 
had outwitted me. The spreading branches above 
reached over until they touched those of a tree on 
the other side of the water. The ants had made a 
highway of the two trees, mounting the one and com- 
ing down the other, an extraordinary journey when 
their size is considered.’’ 

‘‘What did you do next?” asked Mr. Francis. 

“The tree was cut down and dragged away, the 
grass has been kept carefully trimmed on both sides 
of the ditch so that no long stalks can lean across, 
and nothing is allowed to choke up the current.” 

“Have they not troubled you since?” 

“No, but there is still plenty of grass on their side 
of the ditch. When famine begins, who knows but 
that they may remember my fruit trees and study 
boat building, or make a tunnel under the water?” 

Mr. Francis laughed, and Halde, who had been 
listening, said, “I did not think ants could be so 
clever.” 

“You have scarcely made their acquaintance yet,” 
answered the doctor, nodding his head. “Wait 
until the dry season begins.” 


N 


CHAPTER XXI 


HANNA 

W HEN Dr. Davis had finished the ant story, 
Toys asked him if there were many wild 
animals in the country where he lived. 
“Your father must bring you to visit me, and you 
may perhaps be able to catch some.” 

“I should like to come. Father promised to buy 
us animals, but he cannot find any here.” 

“We had a dear, lovely monkey, only he ran 
away,” added Halde. 

“You will find plenty of animals in town during 
the rainy season,” remarked the visitor. 

The boys opened their eyes as if they expected to 
see beasts of all kinds walking the streets as at the 
coming of a menagerie. After a moment’s thought. 
Toys asked : — 

“Why do they come to town when it rains?” 
“They do not come, they are brought.” 

“Who brings them?” 

“The Indians who live in the forest. The Indians 
can only travel during the rainy season, when the 
178 



Copyright by B. L. Singley 


An Indian Family at Home 

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Hanna 


179 

water is high enough to float their boats over the 
rocky places in the rivers/’ 

“Yes, I remember Father told us that rivers are 
the only roads in a wild country.” 

“And when the Indians cannot use these roads 
they must stay at home. In the dry weather they 
occupy themselves making hammocks, boats, ropes, 
earthenware, wicker baskets, and traps to catch fish, 
bows and arrows, and cassava meal. They also 
cultivate their fields, build their houses, fish, and 
hunt. Then, when the rivers and creeks are full 
of water, they start on their journey. Different 
tribes trade with each other as well as with the town. 
Some, for instance, who make good boats exchange 
them with those who make good hammocks, just 
as civilized nations do with their manufactures.” 

“Shall we see real Indians here in town.?” asked 
Toys. 

“Certainly.” 

“Do they eat children, or only grown people.?” 
inquired Halde, anxiously. 

“I have not heard of their eating any one since 
Robinson Crusoe’s time,” laughed the doctor, “so 
I think you are safe.” 

Though their father had told them nearly the same 
thing, the children looked forward to the arrival of 
Indians with some dread. Their first acquaintance 
with one took place in this way : — 


i8o Two Boys in the Tropics 

It was a dreary day of rain. The boys had been 
playing in the front gallery when they heard a knock 
at the door. Toys ran to answer it, Halde being 
close behind. What a surprise for the boys ! As 
the door opened an Indian stood facing them. 

He had neither hat, shoes, nor clothes, except a bit 
of cloth which hung from a cotton string tied around 
the , waist. His brown skin, the color of walnut wood, 
was shining wet, and from his straight, black hair, 
which was cut even across the forehead, the rain 
trickled down and lodged in drops upon his body. 
His eyes were small and dark, his nose somewhat 
flat, his mouth was large and smiling, and his chin 
had a pleasant dimple. A dash of red paint across 
each cheek and a fleck of cotton in the middle of 
the forehead, worn as ornaments, gave the face an 
odd expression. Around his throat was a necklace 
of pointed white teeth strung upon a cotton cord; 
a whistle or flute made of bone hung at the end of 
another cord. The right hand held two young alli- 
gators about six inches long. These had wriggled 
their heads through the man’s fingers and winked 
their lower eyelids up at the boys. The left hand 
carried a loosely woven basket with a bird in it. 

Approaching the boys, the Indian held the little 
alligators towards them, saying, “Cayman.” Then 
raising the basket, he added, “Hannaquoi.” 

Toys understood that the man wished to sell these 


Hanna 


i8i 


things, and went to call his father. Halde, left alone 
with the wild man, felt inclined to run; but knowing 
that a boy should have courage, he stood firm, and 
though a little pale, was able to return the smile 
of the friendly savage, which made a kind of con- 
versation between them. 

Mr. Francis, who soon appeared, shook his head 
when the alligators were offered. The children, 
however, had waited so long for animals that they 
were willing to buy anything. 

‘‘They could be kept in a tub of water covered with 
wire,^’ suggested Toys. 

“The tub in a short while would be too small, 
unless you could teach the alligators to grow no 
bigger. I will take the bird.’’ 

“Hannaquoi tame, tame,” said the Indian, whose 
quick eyes noticed that Mr. Francis looked at 
the basket. Then with his teeth and one hand 
he undid the string that fastened the top of the 
basket. The bird fluttered out and settled on his 
shoulder, at the same time making an odd cackling 
noise. 

“The dear little thing!” exclaimed Toys. “I 
wonder if it will be as fond of me.” 

“Certainly, if you feed it every day,” returned his 
father. “How much for the bird?” 

“Three shilling,” said the Indian, holding up 
three fingers. 


1 82 Two Boys in the Tropics 

""Could we not keep the Indian, like Friday? 
He looks so good,” whispered Halde. 

‘"I am afraid he would be worse than alligators as 
a pet. Perhaps he will let us have his necklace and 
flute.” 

The Indian consented to part with his ornaments. 
When asked the price, he held up one open hand and 
attempted to add a finger from the other. This, the 
lively alligators prevented. He thought a moment, 
then closed the open hand and raised one finger 
alone, thus indicating that six shillings must be 
given. 

The bargain concluded, the Indian tried to untie 
the ornaments from around his neck, but the alligators 
again interfered and he offered them to Loys to hold. 

It was now Loys’ turn to be brave ; he stretched out 
his hand for the wicked-looking creatures, when Mr. 
Francis settled the difficulty by untying the knots 
himself 

As the flute was loosened it fell on the floor. 
Placing his foot upon it, the man grasped it with 
his toes and bent his leg upward. When the flute 
came on a level with his hand, he took it and gave 
it to Mr. Francis. The boys were astonished at this 
unusual way of employing a foot. 

‘"This skilful habit of grasping with the toes seems 
to be common to all barefooted people,” remarked 
their father. “ I have seen coolies do the same 


Hanna 


183 


thing, but never a negro. It may be that the blacks 
have forgotten the custom since living among a 
shoe-vrearing nation.’’ 

The bargain being concluded, the Indian trotted 
off. Loys and Halde watched him as he disappeared 
down the street, still happy and smiling, as if he and 
the weather were friends of too long standing ever 
to quarrel. 

The new curiosities were added to the others already 
in the gallery. The teeth of the necklace were those 
of the peccary, a wild hog found in the forests of 
Guiana. There were two hundred teeth in all; 
each about an inch long and neatly pierced with a 
hole by which to fasten it to the cord. The flute 
was made from the thigh bone of a jaguar. It had 
three holes besides the one used for blowing into, and 
produced a shrill sound not at all musical. 

Hannaquoi, or Hanna as the children called her, 
became a great pet* She was a reddish brown 
bird of the pheasant family and the size of an ordinary 
hen. Early in the morning she would hop upstairs 
and cackle for the door to be opened. Then followed 
a game of hide-and-seek; Hanna running under 
bureaus, stands, and chairs, with the boys after her. 
She had an odd way of holding her head down when 
she ran, as if going through the thick underbrush of 
the woods. 

She was seldom out of doors and her favorite roost- 


184 Two Boys in the Tropics 

ing place seemed to be the sideboard in the dining 
room, where she used the square handle of a tea-pot 
as a perch. Being fonder of running than flying, 
it was safe to play with Hanna anywhere in the 
house. But one day, alas ! when hard pressed, 
she jumped upon the shelf where the monkey had 
done so much damage, and again the dinner ware 
suffered. 

Mrs. Francis decided that Hanna must be kept in 
the garden; only the bird had not learned obedience 
in her wild home, and as the windows were constantly 
open she was no sooner put out of one than she came 
in at another. 

Mrs. Francis then had the bird penned in the hen- 
coop. But with her quick way of slipping through 
small openings Hanna would steal past the cook 
when she fed the chickens, and running into the house, 
would cackle loudly for the boys. 

This trick being guarded against, Hanna’s sharp 
eyes found holes at the bottom of the coop big enough 
to squeeze through. Not a day passed that she did 
not escape, first in one place, and after it was closed, 
making or finding another ; her joyful cackle announc- 
ing the fact to the boys as soon as she was free. 
The children were delighted with her skill, but their 
mother, fearing that something valuable would be 
destroyed, gave orders for a board to be put entirely 
around the lower part of the hen-coop. 



A Visit from the Milkman 

The Cows are driven along the Narrow Streets and milked at the 
Customer’s Door 







Hanna 


185 


For some time Hanna remained safely in prison, 
no doubt planning a way out. One morning her 
joyful clack, clack, clack, was again heard in the 
gallery. With the help of her claws and her stiff 
tail she had climbed to the top of the coop, where a 
broken lath opened the way to liberty. 

The boys began a chase after her, up and down, 
in and out; but Hanna, knowing the coop would be 
her doom, was not to be caught. Presently crash ! 
and one of the most beautiful vases in the drawing- 
room lay in pieces. The children were thoroughly 
frightened, and when they next thought of Hanna she 
had disappeared. All the servants were sent in search 
of her without success. 

‘Ht will be the monkey story over again,” sighed 
Mrs. Francis. 

At every ring of the door-bell the family expected to 
hear some complaint against the bird. However, 
Hanna was not wicked, and though they found after- 
wards that she hrd wandered into several of the 
neighboring housec, her visits were peaceful. 

The following morning, before the family had 
taken their breakfast, Hanna was heard in the gar- 
den cheerfully cackling for admittance. 

“Which would you rather, boys,” asked Mr. 
Francis, with determination; “shall we kill the bird 
or give her away ” 

“It would be very cruel to kill her. Hanna did 


1 86 Two Boys in the Tropics 

not know the vase would break/’ said Loys, defend- 
ing his pet. 

‘‘She is not accustomed to such things in the 
woods/’ added Halde. “Please excuse her this time, 
and we will be careful, careful, careful, that she does 
not do it again.” 

“If I wait until she becomes accustomed, as you 
call it, nothing will be safe.” 

Just then Carla came in with the breakfast, Hanna 
cackling behind, happy to see her little masters after 
a day spent from home and having no doubt of being 
well received. The children were just as pleased to 
see her. 

Mr. Francis could not help laughing, and said, “I 
really do not know what to do, she is an amusing 
little pest.” 

“ Sir, if you tie her by the leg to a stake in the garden 
she cannot get loose, and the young gentlemen 
will still be able to play with her,” advised the woman. 

“Try it, Carla, though I believe she is too clever to 
remain tied long.” 

Mr. Francis was right. Every now and then 
Hanna would break the cord or pick the knot open 
with her bill, and once free she would hurry off to the 
house. Finally she had to be imprisoned in one of the 
wire cages in the garden. Here the children often 
went to see her, and sometimes took her out for a 
little exercise. 


Hanna 


187 


One thing more must be told of Hanna ; she was 
particularly fond of jessamine flowers. A vine ran 
over the wire netting of her prison, and she spent 
many a happy hour eating the snowy blossoms, 
which, perhaps on account of their honey, she pre- 
ferred to any other food. 


CHAPTER XXII 


father’s pet 

W HAT would you think of a puma for a pet ! 

The puma lives in the forests of South 
America and is sometimes called the Ameri- 
can lion, on account of its size. In British Guiana 
pumas often come to the clearings made by wood- 
cutters, to the Indian villages, and even as far as the 
plantations, where they feast on sugar-cane or steal 
cattle. 

One day an Indian shot a mother puma five feet 
long, the tail making two feet more. The mother 
had a cub with her no larger than a kitten, and when 
the Indian brought the puma’s skin to town for sale 
his wife carried the cub, which she fed at her breast 
like a baby. 

Mr. Francis met the Indians in the street and 
bought both the skin and the cub. Toys and Halde 
were delighted when they saw the little animal. 
As it could not yet eat, a feeding-bottle was procured 
for it. The mother’s skin was put over a steamer 
chair in the gallery, which made a comfortable bed, 

i88 


Father’s Pet 189 

and there the cub loved to lie with a paw on each 
side of the bottle, sucking away most happily. 

When bought, his eyes were still closed, like those 
of a kitten, but later they opened and were of a clear 
brown color that turned golden in the sunlight. 
His skin was of a reddish brown, spotted in a slightly 
darker tint; these spots, however, disappeared as he 
grew up. His paws and head seemed too big for him, 
showing that in time he would become a large animal ; 
meanwhile they looked as if borrowed from an older 
brother and made the cub very awkward. 

Mr. Francis called him Joe. He soon knew his 
name and began to be playful. By and by the milk 
bottle was given up in favor of cooked meat, and the 
chair in the gallery exchanged for a box in the gar- 
den. As Joe grew rapidly, Mr. Francis also bought 
a collar and chain so that his pet could be fastened 
when necessary. 

A number of birds had been added to the collec- 
tion during this time and were kept in the garden. 
The first day Joe appeared there was a great row 
among them. All that could do so ran hiding under 
the bushes, while those in the cages screamed and 
beat their wings against the wire netting. Joe’s 
soft eyes glistened, and he looked anything but gentle 
as, tugging at the chain, he crouched for a spring. 

Joe and his box were taken to the other side of the 
house out of temptation, and a few loads of sand were 


I go Two Boys in the Tropics 

spread for him to roll upon. Here he spent a pleas- 
ant life, amusing himself in many ways. One 
game he never tired of was to lie on his back after 
meals, and tossing up the dinner pan with his big 
paws, catch it again as a circus man does a ball. 

The puma was particular about his food. A neigh- 
bor having cooked a tough goose that could not be 
eaten sent it to Joe with his compliments. After the 
first bite the animal growled, turned it around with 
his paw and sniffed at it; then crouching at some 
distance, he glared sideways towards the goose, as if 
the very sight of it offended him. 

Suddenly Joe had a happy thought; dinner was 
impossible, but not revenge. Springing forward, 
he knocked the goose here and there, caught and 
flung it, rolled over it, and bruised, bit, and tore it to 
shreds — without, however, eating a morsel. The 
story became known about town, and the neighbor 
was greatly teased about his goose that was even too 
tough for a puma to eat. 

Joe was fond of Mr. Francis, and whenever he 
heard his master’s step crunching the shells he lay in 
wait, hiding behind his box. Any person would 
have thought he meant mischief; but though he 
pounced on Mr. Francis, it was only for a game of 
romps. Rising on his hind legs and putting his great 
paws on his master’s shoulders, Joe licked Mr. 
Francis’ face and hands, joyfully purring the while. 


Father’s Pet 


191 


Then, his chain being unfastened, a wrestling match 
began, in which man and beast, clasped in friendly 
embrace, tried to throw each other. Sometimes 
four legs went down, sometimes two legs; then both 
rolled on the soft sand, the beast now uppermost, 
again the man, panting and struggling until worn out. 

Joe’s claws grew sharp and long, but he folded 
them into his paws during playtime and took care 
not to scratch Mr. Francis. He became very obedi- 
ent and followed at his master’s heels through the 
crowded streets or public gardens without a leash of 
any kind. A fowl in the way was still tempting, but 
if he started after it one word from Mr. Francis 
brought him back. 

By and by Mr. Francis took him every morning to 
his place of business, where Joe lay under the office 
table all day. The moment Mr. Francis put on his 
hat to leave, the puma would stretch himself and rise 
to follow. Loys called him “Father’s pet,” for the 
two were seldom apart. 

Finally, Joe reached such a size that the people 
objected to his going about the town in this way. 
Mrs. Francis shared their fears and forbade the 
children to play with him. It was difficult to believe 
that the big animal would not sooner or later show his 
native fierceness and injure some one. 

Mr. Francis never lost confidence in his pet, but 
to satisfy the timid he chained Joe in the garden 


192 


Two Boys in the Tropics 


each day when leaving home ; on returning, however, 
his first care was to loosen him. Then the two would 
have their game of romps and afterwards go up- 
stairs, where Joe’s favorite place was still the chair 
with his mother’s skin upon it, which had been his 
bed when a baby. 

Time proved the faultfinders to be wrong; the 
puma hurt no one, and, unlike some humans, he 
never forgot a kindness. One day he climbed a tree 
near his box, and on getting down, caught his rope 
over a limb, where he remained hanging in midair 
without power to help himself. Mr. and Mrs. 
Francis were away from home, and the poor beast, 
blind with pain, struggling, choking, foaming at the 
mouth, and pawing the air in his efforts to get free, 
was an ugly-looking thing to approach. 

Cook and the housemaid cried, “ Ei, ei, he punish 
too bad !” but did not venture near. 

Fortunately the noise brought the seamstress to the 
garden, and knowing how much Joe’s loss would be 
felt, she tried to help him. Taking a sharp knife, 
she mounted a bench under the tree, only to find that 
the rope was still beyond her reach. She then 
persuaded the yelling cook to bring two empty 
barrels and aid her to put the bench upon them. 
From this height she at last succeeded in sawing 
through the rope. 

All this time the strangling animal became weaker 



Father’s Pet — Joe, the Puma 






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Father’s Pet 


193 


and weaker, and when he dropped to the ground not a 
sign of life remained. The good girl threw water 
over him and rubbed him until he shivered and opened 
his eyes. Then she wrapped his cold body in a blan- 
ket and held him in her lap until he became warm. 
Next day Joe was as lively as ever. 

The family were very grateful to the seamstress, 
but not more so than Joe. He would lick her hand 
and rub himself against her side when she came near, 
and whine and cry after her when she left. The girl 
often sat in the door of his box with one arm around 
his great neck, teasing and petting him, pulling his 
ears and blindfolding his eyes, while he lay con- 
tentedly purring. Once, when a troublesome bone 
got between his teeth, she risked her hand in his 
mouth to take it out; nothing offended him, from 
her. 

Mrs. Francis was also a favorite. Noticing a 
wound on his back that was tormenting him, she 
bathed the sore and dressed it with a salve. Weeks 
went by : it had long been well, but Joe always turned 
to show the spot whenever he saw her — a proof that 
he remembered what she had done. 

Few people came to the house without wishing to 
see such a well-behaved puma. Once this led to an 
embarrassing situation. An officer from the garrison 
and his wife were calling. At their request Mr. 
Francis went to fetch the puma. Joe no sooner 


194 Two Boys in the Tropics 

felt himself free than, without waiting for his chain to 
be taken off, he went bounding upstairs ahead of his 
master. 

The great beast rushed into the gallery clanking his 
chain and leaped into his favorite chair. Unfortu- 
nately the officer, not knowing that this chair was 
reserved for Joe, was seated in it at the time, and 
received the flying puma in his lap. 

The lady screamed and grew faint, while Joe, 
curled comfortably on the man’s knees, looked 
from the one to the other as if wondering what all 
the fuss was about. 

Mr. Francis soon appeared, made Joe get down, 
and explained that the animal meant no harm; how- 
ever, the visitors did not remain long and never again 
asked to see the puma. 

Joe’s character for gentleness suffered through this 
little mistake. The officer, as was natural, said that 
no more terrible or bloodthirsty animal could be 
found. But this also had its good side: no vaga- 
bond ever came into the garden without shouting 
first, peddlers only did business outside the gate, 
the ripest fruit might lie under the trees without 
children being tempted to enter, and at night one 
growl from the puma made the hardiest chicken-thief 
take to his heels — not a house in Georgetown 
was better protected, and Joe, as a watch-dog, 
deserved all praise. 


CHAPTER XXIII 


OTHER PETS 

M eanwhile plenty of new pets had been 
found for sale in the market and in the 
streets. A beautiful yellow and black trou- 
pial had its cage in the gallery. The cage door was 
never closed, and though the little bird constantly 
flew in and out of the house, it always returned. It 
had a pleasant song, and became so tame that it 
would hop on the dinner-table and eat the food from 
your plate, ready to quarrel and peck your fingers if 
you tried to interfere. 

Two tall birds, called trumpeters from the singular 
noise they make, stalked about the garden. They 
were as large as a turkey, but more slender and 
with long legs that enabled them to run swiftly. 
Their breast feathers were a changing blue and 
purple, their head, neck, and stomach a glossy 
black, and their wings and back were black. On 
seeing any one in the garden they would walk back- 
wards before them, holding out their wings, bowing 
their heads, and making their queer throat noise of 
195 


196 Two Boys in the Tropics 

“brum, brum, brum,” as if to attract attention and 
admiration. 

An ibis, called in the colony a curri-curri, formed 
a brilliant spot of color in the garden. It was 
scarlet even to its legs and feet, the tips of the wing 
feathers and the curved beak alone being jet-black. 
Another wader from the marshes of the interior, 
called a spoonbill, on account of its oddly flattened 
bill, picked worms from the gutters or wandered as 
far as the pond in the middle of the road, returning 
every evening to sleep. 

A large, stupid bird, black, with a yellow bill, 
known by the name of powise, also strolled about the 
place. But perhaps the funniest bird of all was a 
toucan. Its bill, three inches wide and six inches 
long, at least a third longer than the whole body, 
was colored red, black, blue, and yellow, the same 
tints as the feathers. 

Though so awkward looking, the toucan could 
catch anything thrown him as skillfully as would a 
dog. Billy, as the boys called him, soon knew the 
cook and would hop — he could not run or walk — 
to the kitchen every morning for his breakfast of 
raw plantain and a deep dish of milk or tea. If 
the door was shut, he rapped with his beak until 
cook opened it for him. Billy drank as other birds 
do, by sipping the liquid and holding back his head, 
and never looked more comical than when he held up 



The Ibis 




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Other Pets 


197 


his great beak to let the draught flow down his throat. 
His tongue was quite thin and looked like a feather. 

Once, seeing Carla carrying the breakfast upstairs, 
Billy hopped himself and his big bill from step to 
step after her, until he came to the boys’ door, where 
he knocked. Such joy as there was when they saw 
their visitor ! They set a chair with a box upon it 
near the table and gave him bread and milk. But 
what was less polite, they laughed at their guest until 
Halde choked. Their parents came in to see what 
was the matter, and the breakfast party appeared so 
odd that they too joined the laugh. Fortunately 
Billy did not mind, but looked as pleased as his round 
eyes would allow. 

‘‘This is all very well for once,” Mr. Francis 
warned, “ but if the toucan gets in the habit of com- 
ing we shall have the same trouble as with Hanna.” 

“Isn’t it a pity we do not live in the woods, where 
we could have all our pets around us?” remarked 
Halde. 

“You forget the ants,” returned Loys, laughing. 

“It takes two or three years for the toucan’s gaudy 
bill to become fully colored,” explained Mr. Francis. 
“The color is contained in a thin skin upon the 
inner surface of the bill, which being transparent 
allows the tints to show through. These brilliant 
hues fade soon after death, and the bill of stuffed 
specimens becomes dull, if not painted inside. 


198 Two Boys in the Tropics 

“The curri-curri, too, has long to wait for its 
crimson coat. When first hatched, its feathers are a 
dark gray; after which they grow perfectly white, and 
finally red. But now take the toucan down and enjoy 
yourselves in the garden while the morning is cool.” 

Besides the larger birds a number of small ones 
filled the wire cages : woodpeckers, redbreasts, and 
blackbirds, parrakeets always chattering and eating, 
orange cocks-of-the-rock with tufts of feathers on their 
heads like a soldier’s cap, and a number of sackis, 
blue and black, or white and black — at one time 
Toys counted thirty-nine birds. James now had 
what he called a “business,” as Mr. Francis employed 
him to keep the cages clean. He was very proud to 
earn regular wages. 

The early dawn had other sounds added to those 
the children first heard in their new home. They 
could easily believe themselves in the wild forest 
when listening to the different shrill cries which 
arose from the garden. No one was able to sleep 
after five o’clock, but as the morning hours are the 
most pleasant part of the day in Guiana, this could 
not be called a disadvantage. 

What seems most singular, and proves most attrac- 
tive about the birds and animals of the tropics, is 
their great gentleness. They appear to be fond of 
human society, and like the horse and dog they 
know their master and love him. 


Other Pets 


199 


Though the children liked the birds, Joe was still 
their prime favorite, which gave Mrs. Francis 
many an anxious moment. Loys, especially, thought 
himself man enough to manage half a dozen pumas. 
At last this trouble was settled. Mr. Francis came 
home one day with a young ocelot he had bought 
for Loys alone. Its coat was of a light yellow 
color, striped and spotted with dark brown. 
These animals are easily tamed, and when full- 
grown are from two to three feet long. 

Loys was greatly pleased with his pet, his first 
care being to name the pretty thing. But no name 
satisfied him, and each day he tried another; so that 
the poor ocelot never knew what it was called. He 
fed his pet regularly and tried to teach it to follow 
him about. The little beast was quite willing to eat, 
but evidently could not see the use of trotting up and 
down the garden afterwards. Loys coaxed, snapped 
his finger and thumb, and made all the wheedling 
noises he had ever heard — all to no effect. 

think if you let him alone he would like you 
better,” advised his mother. 

But Loys could not wait; the ocelot must obey. 
He tied a cord around its neck and began to pull, 
at first gently, then with all his might; while the ocelot 
held back, trying to sink his claws into the shells that 
covered the walk. 

The people who had predicted evil of Joe now said 


200 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

that the ocelot was a dangerous plaything for a boy. 
It was the other way about; the ocelot never hurt 
Loys, but the boy showed such eagerness in train- 
ing his pet that it finally died of being too much 
educated. 

Loys was much grieved at this loss, and with a sad 
heart buried the little ocelot under the palm tree in 
the garden. 

At the same time that Mr. Francis gave Loys the 
ocelot, he bought Halde the long-promised sakawinki. 
It had yellow hair and brown eyes. The tail was not 
prehensile, and only served for balancing when the 
monkey sprang from bush to bush. 

Halde did not search far for a name. He called 
his pet Winkie, because it winked its eyes incessantly. 
Winkie was very harmless and amusing, and soon 
became attached to his young master. 

In the morning if Winkie could get into the boys’ 
room, he would jump on the bed and carefully 
open Halde’s eyelids with his little fingers. Once he 
saw Mrs. Francis putting powder on her face, and 
ever afterwards, when Winkie had a chance, he did 
the same. 

He was very fond of music, and though his usual 
time for going to sleep was at sunset, he would remain 
awake half the night if any one sang or played on the 
piano. Winkie had the ear of a true musician, and 
took such a dislike to a certain Scotch reel that if 



Copyright by B. L. Singley 


Indian Market Women 





Other Pets 


201 


even a few bars of it were played, he ran screaming 
away ; and no matter how this piece might be brought 
in among others, the little scamp never failed to 
recognize it. 

Mr. Francis had a box fastened above the door in 
the gallery for Winkie to live in. Here the monkey 
was tied with a long cord most of the time. His 
favorite amusement was teasing the puma. When- 
ever Joe walked through the door, the monkey would 
slip down the rope and seize him by the tail. This 
was a dangerous pastime, for Joe saw no fun in it 
and whirled around and around trying to catch his 
tormentor. However, Winkie had no fear, and held 
on as long as it suited him; then, up he would climb 
hand over hand to his house, leaving the puma 
growling below. 

One day he played a funny trick. A woman came 
in carrying a tray of tarts on her head and stood 
under his box talking to Carla. Here was a feast for 
Master Winkie. He made several trips up and down 
his rope loaded with tarts, and greedily taking more 
than he could hold, dropped and spoiled many of them 
on the way. The woman was too busy with her 
gossip to notice the monkey; but the tarts falling 
faster and faster at last drew her attention from 
her interesting tale. How she screamed and raged 
when she saw what had happened! Winkie kept 
well out of reach or he would have fared badly. 


202 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

Halde was much frightened at the storm his pet had 
raised, and ran for his mother, who paid the woman 
for her loss. 

Winkie was always ready to eat, and care had to be 
taken not to leave him untied when the table was laid. 
If he got to the sugar bowl, not content with a few 
lumps, he would tuck piece after piece under his arms, 
each falling as he stowed away the next, until none 
remained in the bowl; then, with a lump in his 
mouth and one in each hand, he would scamper off, 
leaving the rest lying on the table. 

Once he put his hand into a wide-mouthed jar of 
cayenne peppers, thinking he had found a great 
treat. Such a howl as went up when he licked his 
fingers ! Poor Winkie did not forget the peppers 
for a long time. 

Winkie had a good memory, but little judgment. 
One day he found a spider in a hole at the top of one 
of the columns of the gallery; and ever afterwards, 
when he was free, he would return to the place and 
stick his hand in the hole, hoping to get another 
dainty morsel. 

Scarcely a day passed that the monkey did not 
learn something new. When Halde went for a walk 
he sometimes bought nuts which he put in his various 
pockets, and no matter how carefully they were 
hidden, his pet would be sure to find them all. 

Winkie finally lost all the fur of his body — due. 


Other Pets 


203 


the cook insisted, from his having eaten salted food. 
No funnier creature could be imagined than this 
hairless monkey. He reminded you of those wea- 
zened little old gnomes that you read about in fairy 
tales. The poor fellow naturally felt chilly in this 
condition, and his favorite haunt was a basket under 
the kitchen stove filled with feathers that cook kept 
for stuffing pillows. Here he would remain hours 
at a time, his thin white face and tiny nose alone 
peeping out of his warm bed. 

Winkie, alas ! met with a sad end. One day, 
when the family were out, he crept through the 
lattice of the gallery and got his rope so tangled among 
the vines that he could not return. The heat was 
very great, and the little monkey, accustomed to the 
shade of the forest, became ill. He died soon after- 
wards and was buried in the garden beside the ocelot. 


CHAPTER XXIV 


MONKEYS AGAIN 

F ive different kinds of monkeys now occupied 
a part of the large cages in the garden, 
but it was decided that no more should be 
brought into the house. 

One of these, of a reddish brown color, had a heavy 
black beard, and wore his hair nicely parted in the 
middle. He must have been a king in Monkey- 
land, for he wished to rule all the others, and by 
biting and squeezing them in his long hairy arms 
he frightened them into submission. The old fellow 
was despotic and selfish, and when the cook came with 
food, he took a place by the door and would let 
nothing pass. After filling his four hands and mouth 
he sat upon all he could not hold, and when his 
subjects tried to get a bite he chased them away. 
However, the tyrant was punished for his greediness. 
Defending his hoard gave him little chance to eat, 
so that the hungry crowd carried it off piece by piece. 

In the next cage, separated only by a wire netting, 
were the small birds. One of these foolishly put its 

204 


Monkeys Again 205 

head through the netting; seeing which, the blood- 
thirsty King snapped it olF. 

When the cook found out what had happened, she 
pointed her finger at him and said in a threatening 
tone, ‘‘You scamp, you killed that bird \ ” 

Holding one hand in the other before him, the 
old rogue actually shook his head, at the same time 
making the most piteous noise as if grieved that such 
a serious suspicion should fall upon him. 

Of course the family had to be called to see these 
new antics, which King Monkey repeated as often 
as cook held up her finger to scold. 

A fierce baboon lived under the cage. He came 
from Africa and had been bought by Mr. Francis 
from the captain of an East-Indiaman. He was a yard 
high and had a little stub of a tail. His fur was the 
color of brown paper; his eyes a bright yellow. 
A stout rope kept him from wandering far, but he 
found plenty of mischief to do in his limited surround- 
ings. Whenever another animal came near enough 
he would catch it by the hind quarters and pull it 
backwards in a circle. At other times he took 
great pleasure in picking fleas from his victims’ 
long hair and in eating them. 

A fat young fox that had a box not far off some- 
times strayed into the danger zone. Halde called 
it the “baboon’s pet,” for the monkey seemed to 
be fond of the little animal and liked to hold it 


2o6 Two Boys in the Tropics 

in his arms. Whether he held the struggling fox 
head up or down mattered little to the affectionate 
baboon. 

One day the baboon got loose, and creeping softly 
to the top of the monkey-house, tore away the 
shingles with his strong teeth and hands, until he 
had made a hole in the roof Then, stretching his 
arm through the opening, he helped the monkeys 
out. Of course the King came first, with his subjects 
following after, and in a moment they had scattered 
on all sides. Many days passed before they could 
be coaxed back to their cage, when a singular thing 
was noticed : five monkeys had escaped, but after 
five were caught one still remained at large. Who 
could explain the mystery ! 

The ‘‘other monkey,” as the boys called him, 
kept in the highest trees. In vain traps with the 
best of food were set. In vain monkey punch, made 
of rum, molasses, and water, was put in his way. 
He ate, but only when sure that no one was near; 
he drank, but never enough to make a beast of him- 
self by getting drunk. James, nimble as a cat, spent 
morning after morning scrambling from limb to 
limb in the hope of surprising him. But it was James 
and the children who got the surprise, when the 
“other monkey” was finally recognized to be none 
other than the long-lost Sapajou. 

What joy, what shouting and jumping took place ! 


207 


Monkeys Again 

How Sapajou hung upside down by his tail and drew 
his face into frightful grimaces ! How the boys 
coaxed, chased, and called him ! It was to no pur- 
pose; ‘‘dear Sapajou’’ had been too long at liberty 
and knew the tricks of the town by heart. He was 
quite willing to take punch and breakfast at a safe 
distance or to do gymnastics on the tree-tops; but 
although he had evidently been attracted by the 
escaped monkeys when they were wandering about, 
he did not in the least wish to share their cage. 

Then James had an idea : “You no feed dat mon- 
key. He get too hungry, he come down fast enough.” 

This plan was tried, but Sapajou soon showed that 
he could live by his wits, as indeed he must have been 
doing during his lo*ng absence. He feasted on mangoes, 
sappadillas, and guavas, and made raids through 
the windows of the houses in the neighborhood. 
No breakfast or dinner table was safe, and if by 
chance a pantry door was left open, the bread, butter, 
and sugar disappeared. 

Sapajou’s street life had made him such a skillful 
thief that nothing escaped him. He stole a thimble 
and a fan belonging to Mrs. Francis, he took the 
soap from the washstand, and was seen picking a 
flower from a bouquet in the drawing-room and 
smelling it. One day he put his hand in the jar of 
peppers, as little Winkie had done, and was so 
angry when he tasted the peppers that in his rage 


2o8 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

he dragged the cloth from the table and broke a 
quantity of dishes. 

But the prettiest sight was to watch Sapajou among 
the trees. It needed no coaxing to get him on the 
cocoanut tree now, for he felt more safe there than in 
any other place. He ran up the rough bark like a 
lizard, and when he wished to come down he crept to 
the end of one of the long, swinging leaf-branches, 
where, balancing himself a few moments, he chose a 
place to alight. This done, he dropped boldly 
through the air, some fifteen or twenty feet onto the 
bushy crown of a lower tree, without hurt or exertion. 

When climbing trees that had limbs, he did not 
go directly up, but advanced in a series of leaps from 
side to side, loosing all hands at once, and jumping 
so lightly that he looked like a ball bouncing to and 
fro. 

No doubt this was a pleasant life for Sapajou, but 
one that could not last. Each day the people be- 
came more provoked at the daring raids of the thief, 
until finally some one shot him. True to his love 
of freedom even in death, Sapajou wrapped his tail 
tightly around the cocoanut branch on which he 
had taken refuge and refused to fall. 

The children were much grieved over the sad end 
of their first pet, and as they could not bear to see 
his poor body swinging in the wind, James had to 
clamber after it. 


209 


Monkeys Again 

Sapajou was laid by the side of the ocelot and 
little Winkie, and many tears were shed over their 
graves. But joy sometimes comes out of sorrow: 
a kind gentleman having heard of the boys’ losses 
gave them a frisky little Skye terrier, and they soon 
found, what indeed had been discovered long be- 
fore, that of all animals the dog is the best friend 
of man. 


CHAPTER XXV 


mother’s pets 

O F all the animals in the collection the queerest 
looking was an ant-eater. His thick body 
measured two feet in height and three feet in 
length, and was covered with shaggy ash-colored 
hair. The shoulders were marked with a broad jet- 
black patch that extended under the neck and ended 
in a point halfway down the sides. The tail, of a 
grizzly gray, formed a flat mass of stiff, long hair, 
and was about the length of the body. When sleep- 
ing, the creature turns this bushy tail back over 
his body, thus hiding himself completely from his 
enemies. 

The ant-eater is such an odd beast that he can be 
compared to no other animal in particular. A short, 
stiff mane like that of the zebra rises on his back, 
his head and small ears resemble those of a giraffe, 
while his long, narrow snout gives him somewhat 
the appearance of a bird. His fore feet are power- 
ful and armed with strong claws that he folds under 
his paws when in motion, so that he actually walks 


210 



Mother’s Pet — the Anteater 
















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Mother’s Pets 


2II 


on his knuckles. He uses his hind feet in the ordinary 
manner, by walking on their soles. 

The ant-eater takes no food that needs chewing, 
as he is without teeth, and his mouth is so small that 
he can only eat ants and their larvae. But if a 
doctor were to ask him to show his tongue, he could 
put half a yard of it on view. However, what it has 
gained in length it loses in width, for it is no thicker 
than a lead-pencil. At the back of the mouth are 
two glands which give out a sticky liquid that wets 
the tongue. 

This sticky, snake-like tongue and his strong front 
paws are the animal’s means of getting a living. 
With his paws he tears the bark from old trees and 
digs open the ants’ nests that are underground or 
built with mud on the surface; while the long tongue 
darts in and out with a rapidity of once or twice 
a second, drawing hundreds, or rather thousands, 
of insects into his mouth at every meal. 

It is said that, when attacked, the ant-eater re- 
ceives his foes lying upon his back, and if one comes 
within reach he squeezes him to death with his power- 
ful fore paws. Indians consider him fierce and keep 
at a distance, letting their arrows act for them. 
But he protects himself chiefly by remaining unseen. 
In the dark woods his color and the habit he has 
of covering himself with his tail when asleep allows 
him generally to live a quiet life. Ants are plentiful, 


212 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

and having chosen these insects for his diet, he is not 
troubled by other animals wishing to dine with him. 
His flesh is considered good, and the Indian hunter 
is his most dangerous enemy. 

Whether savage or timid in his native forest, the 
ant-eater owned by Mr. Francis was very tame. 
At first the boys were not permitted to go near the 
stable in which he was kept. James, too, stayed well 
beyond reach of his claws when feeding him. But 
as day after day passed and the beast never showed 
temper, James became braver, and finally led him 
to the grass-plot for an airing, carefully walking back- 
ward the while, in case the ant-eater might take an 
idea to make a charge. The animal, however, did 
not seem to have ideas, or perhaps they came to him 
very slowly. He attacked no one, did as he was 
told, and spent his short life looking ugly and stupid. 

Mrs. Francis pitied the unhappy brute, and set 
her wits to find something for him to eat. To collect 
sufficient ants, even for a single meal, would be like 
those tasks given to unfortunate princes by the wicked 
fairies of old. Mrs. Francis did not attempt this, 
but had some raw meat chopped fine to resemble 
ants. The meat was then spread upon a board, 
and a portion of it mixed with water and molasses, 
as most animals like sweets. Milk was also given 
him, but he was never seen to eat, and looked more 
miserable every day. 


Mother’s Pets 


213 


Mrs. Francis still hoped that in time he would 
get accustomed to his new surroundings and thrive. 
The boys called him ‘‘Mother’s pet.” She had 
taught him to give her his great paw, and paid more 
attention to him than to any of the other animals ; 
but in spite of her care he died at the end of three 
weeks. 

The ant-eater was not buried. As these creatures 
are rare, even in the tropics, Mr. Francis had the 
skin stuffed and mounted. It was then noticed that 
the animal had a wound upon his side, received when 
he was captured while swimming across a river. 
His reputation for fierceness had no doubt been the 
cause of the blow. 

There is an idea held by many that all wild ani- 
mals are savage. This is far from being true. 
People who have to do with them should be cautious, 
but not cruel. If taken young, kindly treated, and 
well fed, there are few animals that cannot be tamed, 
and that do not know and become fond of their 
masters. 

A strange thing about Mother’s pet was that he 
had no voice. During the three weeks of his captiv- 
ity he never uttered a sound. A man in pain groans, 
children cry, cattle bellow, dogs whine; each ani- 
mal has some way of speaking to its fellows. But 
the ant-eater, however he suffers, can make no 
complaint; he might be called the silent animal. 


214 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

Mother’s next choice of a pet was not more lucky;* 
in fact, she could scarcely be said to choose her pets; 
she adopted them through pity. One morning, 
when the children and their father were out walking, 
a man stopped at the gate, carrying over his shoulder 
a stick from which hung a sloth head downwards. 
Struck by its doleful state, Mrs. Francis bought 
it, and when the family returned, she showed them 
her purchase lying motionless in the grass under a 
tree. 

‘‘It looks like a door-mat,” said Halde. 

“I wonder if we can teach it to do anything,” 
remarked Loys, examining the beast from all sides. 

“Well, Mother, as you never cared enough for 
an animal to buy one, this seems an odd beginning.” 
It was Mr. Francis who spoke. 

“I did not care for the thing, only a man was 
carrying it so cruelly, hanging to a stick by its claws, 
that I could not bear to let it suffer. I am afraid 
there is something the matter; it does not seem able 
to walk.” 

Mr. Francis burst out laughing. “My dear wife, 
it is you who are cruel. A sloth is not intended to 
walk on its feet.” 

“Why, then, has it feet.^” 

“To hang on by. In a country of forests, like 
British Guiana, many animals have been fitted for 
spending their lives in the trees. With most of 


Mother’s Pets 


215 


these the tail is very important and is prehensile. 
Boys, have you forgotten what prehensile means?” 

‘‘Like a hand, to hold with,” answered Loys. 

“Like Sapajou,” shouted Halde. 

“Good ! Not only monkeys have prehensile tails, 
but other climbers as well : the tree porcupine, 
the smaller variety of ant-eater, and a beast, very 
numerous here, called the yawarri. Snakes may be 
said to be one long tail that is prehensile, and snakes 
are great climbers.” 

“But this door-mat animal has no tail at all,” 
objected Loys, pushing the sloth with his foot. 

“It holds on with its paws, which serve for no 
other purpose than to seize the branches from which 
it hangs, sleeping or waking, eating, traveling, or 
resting. It can be said to be the only animal that 
goes through life upside down.” Mr. Francis there- 
upon took a stick, and waiting until the sloth caught 
a firm hold, lifted it into the mango tree, where it 
slowly transferred itself to a branch. 

The sloth is a shapeless, repulsive beast, about 
the size of a cat, and covered with a coat of coarse 
grizzled hair spotted with dull black and white marks. 
It has a small head and a flat, pug-like face, black, 
smooth, and edged with whitish hair. Its eyes are 
round and set wide apart, and its mouth is large, and 
seems forever grinning, yet gives an impression of 
distress that had won Mrs. Francis’ sympathy. At 


2i6 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

the end of each paw are three long claws, curved so 
as to fit closely around a limb. 

Finally, getting settled, with his claws clasped above 
him and his head hidden between his fore legs, the 
sloth looked as if he intended to remain in that 
position as long as the tree lasted. 

“Do you think it hurts him to hang like that?’’ 
asked Mrs. Francis, pityingly. 

“Does it hurt a fly to remain on the ceiling?” 

“The fly can go away when it is tired, but the poor 
sloth seems unable to make itself comfortable in any 
way. I cannot bear to look at it, it seems so miser- 
able.” 

“Suppose we kill and eat it?” 

“Disgusting!” exclaimed the boys. 

“Not at all; the sloth is a clean animal. Its flesh, 
I am told, tastes like mutton, and is highly prized by 
the Indians. When they have killed one, they dip 
it in water and hold it before a fire to remove its 
pelt, after which they boil the animal. However, 
sloths are hard to capture; even death does not loosen 
their grip on the limb, and it is only by cutting down 
the tree or by climbing up to them that they can be 
dislodged.” 

“I wish I had not bought it,” sighed Mrs. Francis. 
“Do you know what they eat ?” 

“Their food is green leaves, so your pet can easily 
feed himself.” 



(After Vogt and Specht) 

Another of Mother’s Pets — the Sloth 




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Mother’s Pets 


217 


In spite of this promise, the sloth never attempted 
anything of the kind, but hung in the same place, 
with its unchanging smile, until the sight was enough 
to give you bad dreams. 

The boys tempted it with leaves, Mr. Francis the 
while gently using his cane as a dinner-bell to rouse 
its attention. The sloth, however, would not eat. 
Mrs. Francis then had a happy thought : that grinning 
mouth seemed just fitted to receive milk. Nothing 
was easier than to pour the liquid into it, but the beast 
would not swallow. 

Next she got the feeding bottle that Joe had used 
when young. Alas ! for reasons only known to itself, 
the sloth pretended it could not suck, though it 
must have done so when a baby. Whatever the 
cause of this stubbornness, the sloth stuck to its 
point as well as to the tree, until death rendered 
further sticking unnecessary. 

‘‘Surely they must move about and eat in the 
woods, even if they are upside down,” observed 
Mrs. Francis, much puzzled. 

“Of course they do,” answered her husband. 
“It has been said they can travel quite fast, though 
I have never seen them move at any other than a 
snail’s pace. My opinion is that when an animal 
cannot think quickly it does nothing quickly. That 
is, stupid animals are torpid, and intelligent ones 
lively, both in mind and body.” 


2i8 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘Let us ask some one if there is any special leaf 
they feed on. Not that I ever want to own another 
sloth; still, it would be a satisfaction to know if we 
could have prevented the death of ours.” 

“We can write to Dr. Davis,” suggested Loys; 
“he must know all about them.” 

This Loys did, and while awaiting an answer, 
he and his brother took the poor beast down from 
its tree and buried it. In a few days Loys received 
the following letter: — 

“My dear young friend: 

“ Sloths are said to eat any leaves, but I know 
they eat those of the mora tree, and are very skillful 
in hiding among its bushy tufts if they hear voices 
or are frightened. It takes a trained eye to see one 
of them at the top of these tall trees, and nothing 
but a rifle-ball will bring them down, as their muscles 
and bones are so well fitted for hanging on that un- 
less death is very sudden they do not give way. Ask 
your father to bring you and Halde to the country 
soon, and believe me, 

“Yours very truly, 

“ E. Davis.” 


CHAPTER XXVI 
nobody’s pet 

T his was a big snake that Mr. Francis had 
bought from an Indian and kept in the garden. 
Its cage was a strong wooden box faced with 
iron bars. The natives call this kind of snake a 
camoudi, but the name which is given it in other coun- 
tries is boa-constrictor. Boa means an ox; whether 
those who named it wished to say it is as large 
as an ox, or that it can kill an ox, cannot be known. 
Constrictor means that which constricts or draws 
together, and is well suited to these serpents, as they 
kill their prey by wrapping themselves around it 
and pressing it to death. 

The boys used neither of these names, but gave 
the reptile one of their own finding, which was 
^‘Nobody’s pet.” The servants called it ‘That ugly 
beast,” though in truth the snake was beautifully 
marked. Its skin was of a dark green color, almost 
black above, yellowish on the sides, whitish on the 
stomach, and spotted on the back and sides with 
black rings having a white centre. When these 


219 


220 Two Boys in the Tropics 

skins are dried and varnished, they look like a well- 
made piece of oilcloth. 

The camoudi measured twenty-three feet in length, 
its body being two feet around. The head was but 
a small part of the serpent, and seemed to be used 
simply as a scout that went in advance to discover 
food for the great body. The wide mouth had a 
double row of teeth, and the whole palate was covered 
with bony points. Yet the camoudi never chews, 
but swallows its prey whole; neither can it be called 
greedy, in spite of the size of its meals, for it eats but 
once in nine months or a year. 

Mr. Francis put rats, chickens, and a live guinea- 
pig into the cage, but the snake touched none of them. 
Mother did not trouble herself to feed this pet; no 
one offered it a milk bottle. 

Day after day the brute lay motionless in a corner. 
Sometimes, when the boys rattled a stick across the 
iron bars, it would rouse itself enough to dart out its 
split tongue, this being the only sign of life it gave. 
Its skin became dull and dry, and its eyes seemed 
blind. Mr. Francis thought it about to die. 

One morning, to every one’s surprise, the camoudi 
appeared in a shining new suit. Then Mr. Francis 
remembered that snakes change their clothes once 
a year without the aid of a tailor. The camoudi’s 
eyes were now bright, and the big beast crawled 
restlessly about the cage. 


221 


Nobody’s Pet 

Mr. Francis, seeing the animal so lively, thought 
that it might like a breakfast, and put some food in 
its cage. Its mind, however, was occupied with 
other things. Having such a nice suit, Mr. Snake 
wished to show it to his friends; the breakfast re- 
mained untouched and the snake disappeared. 

When the boys brought this disquieting news, Mr. 
Francis hurried to the garden to investigate, and 
found that the bars of the cage had been pressed 
apart. No doubt the camoudi had placed its flat 
head sideways between the bars and forced its body 
through the gap. Search was made in all directions 
for the runaway, and the police were informed that 
a camoudi was at large. 

You can think how pleased the people of the 
neighborhood were at the prospect of getting a hug 
from a hungry snake when returning home late at 
night. Mrs. Francis was terribly anxious, and could 
not bear to let the children out of her sight; even 
in the house no one felt safe. To come upon a 
crumpled rug or a misplaced door-mat in the dusk 
was enough to make the nervous scream, and dreams 
were filled with twisting serpents eager for prey. 

Six weeks passed before the camoudi could be 
found. Then it was discovered only three houses 
away, coiled in the branches of a low tree that grew 
ovef the gate of a young ladies’ school. How long 
the snake had been there, no one knew, but many 


222 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

people must have passed and repassed beneath the 
tree, little knowing the danger that threatened them. 

The camoudi, having been found, the next trouble 
was to get it back to its cage. You could not chase, 
coax, or lead such a beast; in fact, you would be 
likely to wish to leave it entirely alone. A crowd 
soon collected and two policemen tried to keep order. 
Several voices suggested shooting the snake, and 
Mr. Francis began to think this would be the only 
way to end the affair, when a black man, newly ar- 
rived from the interior, came up to him and said : — 

“Me no afraid snakee, me catch he for five dollars.’’ 

“Will it be safe.^” inquired Mr. Francis, turning 
to one of the policemen. 

“What he know ’bout dat ?” asked the man, point- 
ing to the policeman with his thumb. “Make de 
bargain, you see.” ’ 

Just then James pushed his way through the 
crowd, the children following. “Dat man, he 
George. He catch snake superior,” declared James. 

Mr. Francis was still in doubt, but finally gave the 
desired permission, adding, “I will get my gun in 
case you fail.” 

“No use for dat, massa. You promise de five 
dollars when he caught?” 

“Yes.” 

“Den he caught sure. You give me a little to- 
bacco, an’ me go fetch he.” 


223 


Nobody's Pet 

“Here is a bit with which to buy some." 

While the man went for the tobacco, James was 
sent for Mr. Francis' repeating rifle. They soon 
returned. George filled and lit his pipe, and Mr. 
Francis made sure that his rifle was in order; the 
snake, meanwhile, lay peacefully coiled in the tree, 
taking no notice of the noisy crowd. The limb on 
which the brute rested being low, George was able by 
standing upon a box to get nearly opposite its head. 
He then slowly puffed the smoke into the camoudi's 
face until the animal became drowsy. Whether 
there was opium or any other drug mixed with the 
tobacco, the man would not tell. 

After smoking a short time, George boldly seized 
the camoudi by the neck and dragged it to the ground, 
where, wrapping it around his body, he carried it 
through the crowd which willingly made way for 
him. He promenaded the streets for some time in 
this plight, enjoying the admiration his courage ex- 
cited and putting on an indifferent air, though the 
weight of the serpent must have tired him greatly. 

When at last George brought the camoudi into 
the garden, a carpenter who had been sent for was 
busy strengthening the cage, so that the snake had 
to be laid on the ground until the work was finished. 
This change seemed to awaken the animal, and in 
a moment it began to hiss like a railway engine 
letting off steam. The carpenter, the servants, and 


224 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

some idlers from the street scattered quickly; but 
George, standing firm, tapped the monster on its 
head with a small rod, saying, ‘‘None of dat, 
Sammy ! ’’ and the camoudi ceased hissing. 

There was much rejoicing when the snake had 
been safely caged, though Mrs. Francis could never 
feel quite certain that the camoudi would not again 
escape, and often begged her husband to get rid of 
it. During the winter he could not send it away, 
as the cold of northern countries would kill it; but 
when spring came he shipped it to a zoological gar- 
den in Europe. The snake had been with Mr. 
Francis ten months when it started on its long voy- 
age. All this time the camoudi never ate. But when 
it arrived at the end of the journey, it swallowed 
a rabbit; just to show, as it were, that it felt itself at 
home. 

Nobody’s pet left few regrets behind, though it 
certainly gave as little trouble as a pet well could; 
except, of course, when it ran away. Halde said 
he was a little sorry, but Mother declared she could 
now sleep in peace, and many people in the neighbor- 
hood shared herTfeelings. 

“Father,” asked Toys, “how do snakes creep out 
of their skins 

“I suppose among the thick underbrush where they 
live it is easy for them to rub themselves clear of it. 
Though how ours managed to do so, I cannot say; 


Nobody’s Pet 225 

perhaps there was some roughness on the floor of 
the box.” 

‘‘He must have thought it a long way out, there 
was so much of him.” 

“Ours was by no means the largest of its kind. 
I have been told of a camoudi skin in the Museum 
of Surinam that is sixty-two feet long.” 

“Father,” said Halde, “I think camoudis must 
live on air, like orchids.” 

“No, my dear, they eat, but not often. I believe, 
too, that when young and growing they have better 
appetites. The country villagers find it hard to 
keep fowls near streams where water-camoudis live, 
and sometimes a snake will follow a fowl into the 
hut of its owner. People fish for them with a living 
chicken tied to a cord. This the camoudi greedily 
swallows, when the fisherman draws the snake to 
land and beats out its brains with a club. 

“Not long ago, a cook on one of the plantations 
rose early to make coffee for her master. In lighting 
her fire she scraped the match upon a post that sup- 
ported the kitchen roof. The match would not light. 
She tried on another place, kindled her fire, and con- 
tinued her work. What was her horror later, when, 
turning towards the post, she saw a great camoudi 
twined around it, whose back she had been scratch- 
ing with her match ! You can believe that she did 
not remain long in his company, but ran screaming 
Q 


226 Two Boys in the Tropics 

to the master’s house for help, and the camoudi’s 
life and body were cut short by a sharp axe in the 
hands of the butler. 

‘Tt is said that a slight tap on any part of the back- 
bone will render a camoudi helpless.. However, 
they are not easily killed. A traveler told me that 
after shooting one in the head with a rifle-ball he had 
forced a boat paddle into its mouth in order to see 
the teeth, when the snake splintered the wood to 
pieces. They have also a spur near the end of the 
tail with which to hold on by, and though this weapon 
is not poisonous, the watermen are very much afraid 
of it.” 

‘‘Do camoudis live in the water?” asked Loys. 

“There are two kinds; ours was a land-camoudi. 
However, land-camoudis can swim, and water- 
camoudis do not always remain in the water; so 
you are not safe from either, wherever you go. The 
word camoudi, by the way, means in one of the 
Indian languages a large earthen pot.” 

At the time of the snake’s escape Mrs. Francis had 
a fright from another cause, — funny on account of the 
contrast it presented between the great and the small. 
She was startled one afternoon by hearing Carla 
and the cook shout, “Come out as fast as you can, 
the grass is full of betes-rouges !” 

Rushing to the window, Mrs. Francis saw the 
brown and yellow heads of her boys emerging from 



A Town in the Hills 






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227 


Nobody’s Pet 

the tall grass beyond the garden fence. She knew 
enough French to understand that hete-rouge means 
red beast; though what terrible thing threatened 
the children, she could not tell. Her heart beat fast. 
Each moment she expected the red beasts would 
leap into sight. The anxiety of the women showed 
the danger to be real. She joined her voice to theirs, 
crying, ‘‘Red beasts, the red beasts, come back!” 

The boys gave one hasty look around and took to 
their heels. 

Mrs. Francis went downstairs to inquire what 
animals the grass-plot sheltered. She found cook 
busy removing the children’s blouses and Carla 
rubbing their backs with a towel. 

“What is the matter, are they wet?” 

“The betes-rouges,” answered both women at 
once. 

“What good can rubbing do?” 

“ It takes them off, ma’am,” said Carla, shaking the 
towel out of the door; cook, meanwhile, passing her 
hands down the children’s bare arms and then 
clapping them together as if to get rid of something 
dangerous. 

“Nonsense!” exclaimed Mrs. Francis, convinced 
that all the fuss and fright was due to some crazy 
negro idea. “I do not believe there is such an animal 
as a bete-rouge.” 

“Ei, ei, no bete-rouge, an’ de young gentlemen full 


z'zS Two Boys in the Tropics 

of ’em. Look good !” The cook pointed to several 
small red spots on the children’s arms. 

“Those are mosquito bites.” 

“You wait until to-morrow, ma’am, you will see 
plain enough. I will get some salad oil, it kills ’em. ” 

“I do not want oil on me,” objected Toys. 
“Mother, must I?” 

“Just as you like, my dear. I am sure I can see 
nothing.” 

“Neither can I, Mother. Cook wants to frighten 
us with a Nancy story.” 

“Nancy story! Ei, ei, what he say! He no see 
betes-rouges, he feel ’em soon,” muttered cook. 
“These Buckra too queer.” Cook generally forgot 
her good English when excited. 

The woman’s prophecy came true. Later, the 
children were seized with a severe itching from head 
to foot and felt glad when the time came for taking 
their bath. However, after they had remained in 
the water as long as possible the itching continued 
and even seemed worse. Those small red spots that 
Mrs. Francis called mosquito bites had become 
larger and more plentiful. On the ears, the eyelids, 
all over the body they could be seen dotted about, 
and no amount of scratching gave relief. At last 
Mother herself began to scratch and noticed a few 
red spots on her skin. When Mr. Francis returned 
to dinner he found the family nearly frantic. 


Nobody’s Pet 


229 


“What on earth is the matter he inquired. 

“The boys were in the grass beyond the garden, 
and ever since they have been troubled in this way. 
I cannot tell what it is. Perhaps a plant has poisoned 
them.” 

‘Plant indeed! Betes-rouges,” sniffed Carla, 
who waited at table. 

Before sitting down Mr. Francis looked at one of 
the spots, and exclaimed, “Why, of course they are 1” 

“Do you also believe in those mythical beasts 

“They are a red insect that lives in the grass here, 
and only constant mowing and rolling can keep 
a lawn free of them. They burrow into the skin and 
stick everywhere, even on snakes.” 

“Are they dangerous .?” 

“When not attended to they sometimes cause 
sores; but if the boys grease themselves, the itching 
will soon disappear. You, also, have a few bites. 
The wind blows the insects about. I wish we had a 
microscope to enlarge one. They are scarcely as 
big as the dot over an /, and are a bright red; still 
you can see them without a lens, if you look care- 
fully.” 

“I can’t, really; I have tried. There is only what 
seems to be the blood about to come through the skin, 
as when you prick your finger with a needle.” 

“But that is a bete-rouge!” 


CHAPTER XXVII 


THE KITE SEASON 

I NSTEAD of being divided into spring, summer, 
autumn, and 'winter, as in the States, the trop- 
ical year is made up of two wet and two dry 
seasons. To these the children have added a fifth, 
which they call the kite season. 

Before February scarcely a kite is seen; but from 
this date they begin to appear as surely as the birds in 
spring. Few at first, their number increases daily 
until Easter, when hundreds fill the sky. As the 
time draws near, kite-making becomes the chief 
occupation of the young people; the shops are gay 
with kites, and boys carry them from house to house 
for sale. 

Toys and Halde had soon become acquainted with 
the children of the town and went every fine even- 
ing to the sea-wall, which is the playground of the 
place. When kite after kite appeared, they too 
wished to own one and asked James if he knew how 
to make them. 

‘'Me make you each one, superior, if me hab de 
instruments.’’ 


230 



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The Kite Season 


231 


‘‘What must you have 

“A bit to buy kite paper.” 

Mrs. Francis was asked for the bit, and with this 
James bought tissue-paper of various colors — four 
sheets for a penny, so he had quite a supply; perhaps 
this is why he kept two of them for himself. 

“Will you hab a singin’-engine, or a mad-bull, or a 
star kite, or a clock-bull, or a full-moon, or a man 
kite, or a common kite.^” asked James, in his best 
English and grandest manner when he returned with 
the paper. 

The children looked puzzled. 

“Singin’-engines an’ bull kites is de same, dey 
make a superior noise in de air. Dem police don’t 
like ’em.” 

“Why not.?” 

“Dey frightens horses wid der buzzin’.” 

“Then we had better not have one.” 

“If you flies it in de garden or at de sea-wall, 
de police no object. But if he see you fly it in de 
street he take dat same kite home and flies it heself.” 

The more James talked, the more the boys felt 
that bull kites must be the very best kind, and the 
only ones worth having. As James encouraged this 
opinion, it was soon settled that two bull kites should 
be made: a mad-bull and a clock-bull. 

James then got some light pine wood, a kitchen 
knife, a reel of strong thread, and a pin. The wood 


232 Two Boys in the Tropics 

was easily split into rods; two being seventeen 
inches long, and the third eleven and a half inches. 
James, however, did not measure by inches, but by 
spanning with his thumb and little finger — a favorite 
way with the black people. To trim these sticks 
down to the right thickness seemed to be the most 
important part of the operation, and James paused 
every now and then in his work to weigh them 
on the tip of his forefinger, until finally, when 
satisfied, he scraped them smooth with a piece of 
broken glass. 

This done, James, undaunted by betes-rouges, 
waded through the grass to where a group of bamboos 
grew, and selecting a few supple stems brought them 
back. 

""Are you going to make a bamboo kite, also?” 
inquired Halde. 

""Dat’s for de bull-cage, an’ if you look good, 
you’ll see how bulls is produced.” 

James next stuck the pin through the middle of 
the sticks and ""strung” the kite; which consists 
not only in joining the ends of the sticks with thread, 
as in the ordinary kite, but in passing the thread 
through various notches on the sticks, thus forming 
a geometrical design looking something like a huge 
cobweb. The ""bull-cage” was made of three strips 
of bamboo bent and fastened to the top and centre 
of the kite. 


The Kite Season 


233 


The kite was now ready to be covered. Before 
this was done, James made another trip into the grass- 
plot. He stopped by a small tree with dark green 
leaves and began picking bunches of what looked 
like grapes. 

‘^Do give us some grapes,’’ asked the children, as 
he returned. 

‘‘Dese is clammy-cherries,” said the black boy. 

‘‘Are they good to eat ?” 

“Jest you try one.” 

The berries were of a greenish white color, with 
seeds and pulp like those of a grape. They proved 
to be tasteless and were so sticky that the boys had 
to use pumice-stone to clean their hands. 

Meanwhile James was busy breaking the clammy- 
cherries and squeezing their sticky pulp on the 
edges of the kite paper. 

“Oh, how nice and handy!” cried Halde. 

Mother, do come and look. Here is real paste 
growing on a tree, just ready to make kites.” 

Mrs. Francis, who was giving orders to the gar- 
dener, approached the group of boys. “Do you 
think that wonderful, my dear.?” 

“Why, yes, did you ever see such a thing before ?” 

“Paste grows on a plant at home.” 

“I never saw it.” 

“Oh, yes, you did ! Whole fields of it.” 

“Mother means wheat, because we make paste 


234 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

frorh flour, and flour is ground wheat,” broke in 
Loys. 

“ But you can’t catch me that way,” replied Halde, 
nodding his yellow head. “This is much more 
wonderful, here the paste grows ready-made.” 

Mrs. Francis laughed and continued her stroll 
through the garden. 

By this time James had nearly covered the kite. 
Pieces of colored paper had been cut to fit the many 
triangles and figures formed by the network of 
threads — each piece overlapping the other about 
an eighth of an inch; and when this patchwork of 
paper had been pasted in place, the kite looked 
like a beautiful stained-glass window. 

James laid the kite in the sun to dry and wiped his 
hands in the grass, which, instead of cleaning them, 
remained sticking to his fingers. 

“It won’t come off without soap and water,” 
advised Loys. 

“You jest see!” returned the boy, taking up a 
quantity of fine shell dust from the walk and rub- 
bing it over his hands. 

“They are very dirty!” 

“But dey is not sticky!'* and James put on his 
grand air and began cutting three pieces of paper 
into the shape of half moons. 

“What are these for?” asked Loys. 

“Dese is de bulls.” 


The Kite Season 


235 


“I thought the bamboo pieces were the bulls.” 

“Dem is de place for de bulls.” 

James took up the kite, burst another berry, and 
pasted one of the half moons to a thread stretched 
across the back of the cage. The half moon thus 
suspended was free to flutter in the hollow formed 
by the cage, and made the buzzing sound from which 
the kite is named. The other half moons were 
pasted on the upper sides of the kite to reenforce the 
noise, and a small star was added in the centre as an 
ornament; after which the mad-bull kite was fin- 
ished. The boys wanted James to raise it imme- 
diately, but he said it must first be quite dry; and, 
what seemed a queer way of gaining this end, he 
sprinkled the paper with water. 

‘^Now you have spoiled it !” cried Loys, seeing the 
kite spotted over with great blotches caused by the 
drops. 

‘‘Buckra knows nufFen ’bout dis business,” re- 
turned James, as he laid the mad-bull in the sun to 
dry. ‘^Dem kite soon be tight as a drum.” 

He was right. The water, drying, shrunk all 
creases and wrinkles out of the paper, much to the 
boys’ surprise, who were inclined to think James 
more clever than ever. 

‘‘And now you must make mine,” said Halde. 

“You tink dem animals no want to eat?” an- 
swered James. 


236 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

“But after you feed them, will you make it ?” 

“One kite enough work for one day,’" declared 
James, decidedly. 

This was sad news for Halde. James, however, re- 
mained firm, for he had another plan in mind. As 
soon as the children had gone upstairs he stripped a 
few cocoanut rods and gathered some leaves from the 
plant that had furnished the fibres to sew the boat. 
After these fibres were removed from the leaf pulp 
and dried in the sun, it did not take James long to 
complete his task. He tied three of the cocoanut 
rods together, fastened the fibres around their ends, 
pasted over them the paper he had hidden from the 
children, and now had a kite of his own. 

String for raising it was made from a number of 
fibres joined end to end, and its tail was but a bunch 
of grass; nevertheless the kite flew well, and James 
amused himself all afternoon — at a sufficient dis- 
tance from the house not to be seen by the children. 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


KITE-FLYING 

N ext day James was ready to work again ; and 
as all the materials were at hand, the clock- 
bull kite was soon finished. 

Four pine sticks of the same length were needed 
for this new combination. They were fastened 
together in the middle and spread apart like the 
spokes of a wheel. The ends of the sticks were 
joined with thread, thus making an eight-sided 
figure. Two other threads were strung in a similar 
manner around the frame, so that the network pre- 
sented three eight-sided figures placed one within 
the other. The space in the centre was covered 
with a sheet of light drawing-paper, upon which 
James painted a fairly good representation of a 
clock-face. There was no ‘‘bull-cage’’ as in the mad- 
bull kite, the little half moons of paper in this case 
being set along the two outer threads. They were 
blue, black, red, and yellow and made a pretty 
effect, all fluttering and humming in the air together. 
When this kite has a large star in the centre, instead 
of a clock-face, it is called a star-bull. 


237 


238 


Two Boys in the Tropics 


A tail was made for each kite out of bits of material 
knotted along a string at about a foot apart, and 
two balls of twine were bought, which James attached 
to the kites in the usual way. This done, the boys 
were ready to set out with James for the sea-wall 
at five o’clock the same evening. 

Some thirty kites were already darting through the 
air when they arrived ; most of them common kites, 
six-sided, with a fringe of paper about a foot long on 
the two upper sides. These fringes or wings are 
made by cutting tissue-paper into slits, leaving 
a strip at the top by which the wing is fastened to the 
kite. There were also kites having streamers a yard 
long waving from the ends of the middle cross-stick, 
the tails being formed of narrow strips of cloth tied 
in bunches four feet apart. 

In a few minutes Toys and Halde had the pleasure 
of seeing their kites sailing among the others, and 
James began to give them a lesson in kite-flying. 
The children, who thought the principal thing was 
to raise the kite, were surprised to find this to be 
the least part of the sport. 

The kites rushed about, now up, now down, in 
curves and circles, buzzing and bowing here and 
there or swooping upon each other like birds of 
prey; while the boys below swung their arms, pulled, 
jerked, and shouted, each making an effort to outdo 
the crowd around him. 


239 


Kite-flying 

Sometimes the string was run quickly out, at other 
times brought in hand over hand, then waved to and 
fro, or caught at about a foot from the hand holding 
it, folded back and allowed to snap forward. Each 
motion of the hand gave a corresponding movement 
to the kite in the air. A pretty trick is what is 
called ‘‘sending a message.’’ In order to do this the 
string is passed through a piece of paper or a leaf 
which, caught by the wind, is whirled up to the kite. 

No one seemed to know more of these tricks or 
to be more active in carrying them out than James. 
His arms and legs worked like a windmill and his 
mouth kept pace. He ran from Loys to Halde, and 
from Halde back to Loys, urging, helping, and show- 
ing them how to manage, until they were quite as 
excited as himself. The result was that the clock 
kite and bull kite made the most wonderful plunges, 
whirls, and somersaults, as well as the loudest buzz- 
ing of any on the wall. James and the children 
were half wild with delight. However, their pleasure 
was soon to end. 

Every now and then a string suddenly snapped and 
a kite fell to the ground, — this event being met by 
howls of rage and shouts of triumph. The children 
naturally thought that the strings had been broken 
by the force of the wind. This was not the case; 
they had been cut. But how could any one climb 
halfway up the sky to cut a kite string 


240 Two Boys in the Tropics 

This mean trick, which is known as 'Taking,’’ 
is done by the means of sharp bits of glass, called 
"flakes,” chipped off* of a bottle and attached to 
the kite’s tail, which, thus armed, sweeps the sky 
like a scythe and cuts any string that crosses its path. 

In spite of James’s watchfulness, this is what 
happened to the mad-bull kite. Halde had almost 
allowed his clock kite to drop upon a cocoanut tree, 
and James was putting forth all his energy to save 
it, when a tall white boy jockeyed his kite towards 
the mad-bull, and drawing in his string rapidly, shot 
his kite upwards, its tail slashing across the string of 
the mad-bull. 

The raked string came back limp into Loys’s hand, 
and the bull, left without a guide, fluttered here and 
there a moment, as if seeking its way; then, half sail- 
ing, half sinking, it fell to the ground, where its roar- 
ing was forever ended in a trench of muddy water. 

The boy who did the mischief, thinking Loys too 
young to harm him, openly showed his delight by 
capering about and shouting in sign of victory. 
But he reckoned without James. No sooner had this 
nimble lad put Halde’s kite into a good position, than, 
turning, he saw the settling of the bull and the war 
dance of the victor. Losing no time in laying plans, 
he bent his head like a ram and went plump into the 
middle of the other boy’s back, butting him to the 
bottom of the grassy bank on the land side of the 


241 


Kite-flying 

wall. His string being dropped in the fall, the white 
boy’s kite followed fast after the bull and, meeting 
several kites in its way, caused a tangle of tails and a 
confusion of torn paper and broken sticks. 

This destruction of kites was the result of nearly 
every evening’s amusement. Even if no accident 
happened, the kites were so frail that an hour in the 
strong breeze was sure to leave some holes which 
had to be patched on returning home. The best- 
made never appeared at the wall more than twice, 
and if only the tail and ball of string could be saved 
from the wreck, the owner felt satisfied. 

As the season advanced, Loys and Halde them- 
selves became quite skillful in making kites, -though 
they could not succeed with some of the most diffi- 
cult ones. For instance, the Chinese of the colony 
made bird kites out of split bamboo, that at a dis- 
tance could easily be taken for a flock of crows or a 
flight of curri-curri. 

Another odd production seen at the sea-wall was 
a man kite, six feet high, that required three well- 
grown lads to manage it. The number of sticks 
used was the same as for an ordinary kite, only the 
uprights were longer and their ends did not spread 
so far apart. The middle cross-rib formed the 
arms and was ended by hands cut out of cardboard, 
while feet of the same material were attached to the 
bottom of the uprights. By connecting the sticks 

R 


242 Two Boys in the Tropics 

with light twine a fairly good outline of a man was 
produced. 

It only remained to dress the man; and here a 
taste for bright colors had been followed. Two 
pieces of bamboo strengthened the head, and the 
string passing over the top of one of these formed 
a pointed cap that was covered with red paper. A 
red tassel of wool, tacked to the end of the bamboo, 
ornamented the cap, and two coat tails cut from black 
paper also fluttered in the wind. 

White paper was used for the face, the vest, and 
the shirt. The coat and shoes were black, the 
lapels blue, and the leggings brown. The eyes, nose, 
mouth, and mustache were painted by hand, and the 
cravat tied from a strip of red paper. The kite 
tail was hung from between the ankles of the man; 
while the cord for raising the kite was fastened to 
the centre, where all the sticks meet, and to both 
sides of the cap. 

A pretty kite made by Loys and Halde was a copy 
of the American shield, the blue field and white 
stars covering the upper third of the kite, the red 
and white stripes filling the lower portion. The 
wings were red, and the tail was of flaming bits of 
scarlet flannel that swept through the air like a trail 
of fire. 

All kites, however, were not equally brilliant. 
Little darkey boys contented themselves with queer- 


243 


Kite-flying 

shaped affairs made from stray pieces of brown 
wrapping-paper through which cocoanut fibres were 
passed in and out, and which were raised with bits 
of string picked up in the streets. Of course these 
kites never took a place in the sky among the others ; 
but they gave, perhaps, just as much pleasure nearer 
earth. 

After the evening when Loys’s string had been cut, 
James wished to fasten flakes to the children’s kite 
tails. However, Loys did not .like the idea, and 
refused to let him do so. 

James called this a ‘Hool Buckra notion.” 
‘‘Now,” he went on, “if dat white boy come again 
to pop your string, will you jest let he be ?” 

“Do you think the white boy did right asked 
Loys. 

“I tink he pop de string.” 

“Well, was that right .?” 

“Dat was a cut string, an’ a kite in de trench. I 
want to pay he back what he gib.” 

“But is that right .^” 

‘‘Now see here, young massa, if you lend me a 
bit, ought I keep it .?” 

“No.” 

“So you tink I mus’ gib back de bit dat is a nice 
ting to hab, an’ keep de cut from a flake dat I don’t 
want.” 

This reasoning seemed so good that Loys had 


244 Two Boys in the Tropics 

nothing more to say, but before going to bed that 
night he asked his father what he thought of it. 

“It is just, as far as it goes; one of the earliest 
laws is, ‘ an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’ Only 
it is our nature to think a wrong done us more serious 
than it really is, so that if we have the power we 
are likely to make the punishment greater than the 
offence. Had you told the policeman on duty he 
would have taken away the boy’s kite.” 

“Is that all!” 

“That would be giving like for like; his kite 
against yours.” 

“Mine was better; and besides I did not want 
to lose it.” 

“It was no doubt provoking, but the whole loss 
did not amount to more than six cents. You could 
not punish any one heavily for that.” 

The kite season reached its height on Easter 
Monday, which is a public holiday in British Guiana. 
The day dawns to the sound of fifes and drums, tin 
whistles, and triangles. As early as five o’clock in 
the morning, crowds of boys and young men parade 
the streets, trying to fill the empty day with noise. 
Later, people appear in their best clothes, go on 
excursions, and amuse themselves as in other lands; 
but the thing peculiar to this place is that at least 
half of the holiday seekers carry kites, — women 
and men, boys and girls, even babies in their nurses’ 
arms have them. 



A Chinese Coolie Farmer 






245 


Kite-flying 

In the evening Mr. Francis took the children and 
their mother for a drive to see the kites. Every open 
lot, the sea-wall, and the parks were thronged with 
people whose eyes were turned heavenward. The 
kites were so numerous that each one had only a small 
space to sail in, and it was rare for any to remain 
whole longer than ten minutes; but as one fell 
another took its place. It would be hard to say 
which was more crowded, earth or sky. The ground 
was covered with pieces of broken sticks, wriggling 
tails, and tangled strings ; the telegraph wires, house- 
tops, chimneys, trees, bushes, and trenches had a 
share — yet the amount still flying never seemed 
to grow less. 

The crowd was made up of nearly as many colors as 
the kites — black, white, brown, and yellow; African, 
Creole, East Indian, and Chinese, with a few Euro- 
peans. But though noisy and restless, there was 
little quarreling among them. One of the most 
enterprising was a black girl dressed in pale pink 
muslin trimmed with white cotton lace. She had 
a flake to her kite tail and was raking her neighbors’ 
strings with great good humor and success, when a 
policem. n took her kite away. 

Some danced on the grass to the music of a con- 
certina and guitar. Others played ball or cricket, 
in which games the women also took part. Sailing 
toy boats on the pond in the park was another amuse- 


246 Two Boys in the Tropics 

ment much enjoyed by the grown folks, — and so the 
day wore on. 

As Loys and Halde passed back in the early twi- 
light they found most of the people also turning home- 
wards. The sky was left to the stars, without a spot 
on its blue, but the earth still showed signs of the 
merry contest. The sound of music and merry- 
making continued throughout the night, and it Was 
not until the dawn that Easter Monday and the kite 
season were ended. 

The children, however, continued to make kites, 
and spent many pleasant afternoons in the breezy 
tower, where there was no danger of raking or of 
other boys interfering with their sport. 

Here they would bring up a rug and a chair for 
their mother, who often sat and read stories to them 
as they played. Sometimes they would tie the 
strings to the railing and lie comfortably on the rug 
watching their kites; and from here they also saw 
the curri-curri sail in from the coast, the kiskadies 
build their nests, and the vultures come home to 
roost. It was much better than the sea-wall. 


CHAPTER XXIX 


THE DRY SEASON 

A S the dry season advanced, the stifling rays of 
heat shone upon the baked earth, only to be 
reflected back to the sky, where hung heavy 
clouds from which no rain ever dropped. 

The shadows kept out of sight, and you had 
to wear a wide-brimmed hat to shade your face at 
all. To see a shadow all drawn together at the 
edges sneaking under a wagon, a horse, or a little 
dog was really funny. 

The first time the boys noticed this sight they 
could not help laughing. Halde said that it looked 
as if the shadows were afraid to come out. 

‘"That is because,’^ explained Mr. Francis, “we 
are near the equator where the sun is directly over- 
head.’’ 

The trees looked sad, and the plants were so 
covered with dust they scarcely lived. The gardener 
was kept busy watering, but the thirsty ground 
seemed never satisfied; every crack like an open 
mouth cried for more. In the street the sprinkler 


247 


248 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

no sooner went by than the freshness it brought was 
lost in the dust and heat. 

The greatest enjoyment during these months was 
a bath, some people taking as many as three a day. 
When out walking in the evening, the boys would 
often see whole families of little darkey children 
gathered around a hydrant in the street, their mother 
in their midst pouring water over them with a large 
half calabash, while the youngsters screamed with 
delight. 

This was all very well while the water lasted; but 
when week after week went by and no rain fell, 
when weeks counted together made months and still 
there was no rain, then even bathing had to be 
limited. 

The first thought on the subject came to the Francis 
family when the cook one morning appeared at the 
dining-room door holding a key in her hand. 

“What is the matter asked Mrs. Francis. 

“I bring it to you, ma’am, so that no one can ^ay I 
steal the water.” 

“She has been giving water to all her friends,” 
muttered Carla, who was waiting on the table. 

“What is the matter?” again asked Mrs. Francis, 
looking from one to the other. 

“The vat is more than half empty,” replied Carla. 

“It is not my fault. I use as little as possible,” 
rejoined the cook. 


The Dry Season 249 

‘‘The vat is more than half empty/’ repeated 
Carla. 

“It’s the young gentlemen,” returned cook. 

“We have never touched the water vat,” spoke 
up Toys. 

“Don’t you bathe in white water every day ?” 

“Of course we bathe, every one bathes. What 
has that to do with it 

“You can’t bathe without water, and if you go on 
as you do the vat will soon be empty. I won’t be 
responsible.” Cook laid the vat key on the table, 
adding as she left the room, “Whoever heard of 
bathing with white water in the dry season !” 

“The woman acts as if she were crazy,” said Mrs. 
Francis, puzzled by the cook’s strange behavior. 

Mr. Francis looked amused. “It is easy to see 
that this is your first dry season in the tropics. Do 
you know why it is called dry.?” 

“Because no rain falls.” 

“Just so! And if that is the case, where are we 
to get drinking water after our vats are empty ?” 

“ But how can we do without bathing ?” 

“You can still bathe, but you must not use the 
‘white water,’ as cook calls it; take hydrant water 
instead.” 

“It looks horrid, it is nearly black I” declared 
Loys. 

“Although dark, it is clean water. The color 


250 Two Boys in the Tropics 

comes from the many leaves that choke the rivers 
in the great forests. People do not drink it when 
there is other water to be had, but there is no pleas- 
anter bathing water.’’ 

“Perhaps it may turn us black,” suggested Halde. 

“No, my dear. You can splash away without 
fear.” 

Mrs. Francis thought the water question was now 
settled ; this was by no means the case. Not a day 
passed without some one begging for a pailful, and 
Mrs. Francis did not have the heart to refuse such 
a simple request. It was soon found that she was 
the very worst person to whom the key could have 
been intrusted. The cook came again to complain. 

“But what can the poor people do.?” exclaimed 
Mrs. Francis. 

“Let them go and buy water from the public vats. 
When these are empty, it will be time to give; that is, 
if we have any ourselves.” 

“Buy water .?” 

“Yes, ma’am. Have you not seen those large 
tanks near the public buildings .? They are full of 
white water which is sold for a penny a pail.” 

“Very well, cook. I will give the beggars money 
instead of water.” 

Next morning Mr. Francis took his wife, Loys, and 
Halde to see the water given out from the public 
tanks. What a crowd was there ! Women neatly 











* ^ 


• -s-i ^ 


Carrying Water 

In these Earthen Jars the Water will keep Cool for Several Hou 




251 


The Dry Season 

dressed, women in rags and tatters, boys, girls, and 
men awaiting their turn to be served at the faucet. 
Some were quarreling and fighting, others laughing 
and joking, while others again lay on the ground 
beating a tattoo on their pails to which they kept 
time with their idle heels. On one side was a long 
file of people leaving with their filled pails on their 
heads, and opposite was another line, just as long, 
of people arriving. Everything that could hold 
water was brought out: oil cans, fruit tins, butter 
jars, soup bowls, and calabashes being used to hold 
the precious liquid. 

“Here the advice to lay up for a rainy day should 
be reversed,” remarked Mrs. Francis, as the family 
started for home. “These people should lay up 
for the dry weather.” 

Finally the store of rain water in the city vats 
gave out, and the people had to be contented with 
the brown water of the hydrants. This, however, 
soon became limited, when the streams from which 
the waterworks drew their supplies ran dry; and at 
last the hydrant could be kept open but two hours 
a day. 

Everywhere, now, the unfortunate natives could 
be seen in the streets seeking for a pond or a trench 
that might still contain a little water. Many would 
bring their animals with them: the donkey boys 
dragged their sad-looking burros, an old darkey 


252 Two Boys in the Tropics 

woman led a cow, while a coolie rode astride of a 
bony horse. And if a pool were found, what a 
scramble there would be ! Often more water was 
spilt than was saved; but the animals, at least, 
got their fill before they could be pushed away. 

The dry season continued. Clouds there were, 
great masses of them, but it seemed as if they had 
forgotten how to rain. The government found it 
necessary to send steamboats up the river beyond 
the tide to bring down hogsheads of water. Quite 
a trade was carried on in this way by boatmen who 
made trips on their own account. Those not having 
barrels simply brought their boats as full as they 
would hold without sinking, and people crowded the 
wharves to buy this water, sometimes waiting fot an 
hour to get their turn, and having to walk another 
hour to and from their homes. 

The streets were watered with sea-water, a supply 
of which was also taken into one of the ponds in case 
of fire. The papers were filled with accounts of the 
distress in the colony, and if a few drops of rain 
happened to fall anywhere, it was immediately 
telegraphed, and formed part of the latest news. 
Water, or rather the want of water, was the topic of 
the day. 

Toys and Halde now understood why the seam- 
stress had said, “We like the rain !” 


CHAPTER XXX 


THE PONY CART 

T he dry season brought an unexpected pleasure 
for Loys and Halde. Since the town had 
become unhealthy with the long drought, their 
father was afraid for the children to walk much, and 
yet it was bad for them to be always in the house. 
For this reason he bought them a pretty little pony 
and cart, with a seat in it just big enough to hold 
two. 

The cart came from America. Its body was of 
yellow wood, varnished, the wheels and shafts red, 
the hubs black. Their pony, which was in reality 
a small horse and a native of the colony, the children 
called Darling. Well shaped, a sorrel, with black 
mane and sweeping tail, a fast trotter and gentle, 
the little fellow had no equal in town. Black har- 
ness shining with silver buckles, a whip, a knee 
cloth, and brown cushions on the seat completed the 
turnout. 

When the pony cart drove into the garden and the 
boys heard it was theirs, they were too delighted to 
253 


254 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

speak, except in little screams and cries, with many 
oh’s and funny sounds between that in some way 
seemed to express their joy better than words. 

The first sentence that could be understood from 
Toys was, ‘‘May we try it just now. Father ? ’’ 

“Without waiting a single minute.?” added Halde. 

Then Mr. Francis remembered that the only 
experience the boys had in driving was with sleepy 
old Mike at Bywater, and he feared it would not be 
safe to trust them with an animal fresh from the 
pasture. James, however, solved the difficulty by 
saying in his usual grand way, “ Me can drive horses 
superior.” 

“Where did you learn ?” 

“In de country, sir. Me live wid a man who have 
many horses. Me can fox, too,” added James, 
meaning the motion of rising and falling in the 
saddle with the horse, as is done by men who follow 
the hounds. 

“Let me see what you can do.” 

The boy jumped into the wagon, and Mr. Francis 
soon found that he had not been boasting. Toys 
and Halde were permitted to go with him, and though 
the seat was a little small for three they enjoyed their 
drive greatly. 

James was now a made man. Mr. Francis got 
a saddle so that the boy could ride postilion and 
leave the seat for the children. His livery was a 


255 


The Pony Cart 

neat suit of blue with silver buttons, white corduroy 
breeches, top-boots, and a cap. He had a room in 
the stable, regular food and wages, and could dress 
nicely. What a contrast to the “gentleman” in the 
rice sack who came a few months before to pick 
cocoanuts ! 

The children were delighted with their cart and 
went out every evening; James “foxing” on the 
pony, and their little Skye terrier. Snap, sitting 
between them on the seat and barking every now 
and then to show what a good time he was having- 
Sometimes they took a friend for a drive, sometimes 
their mother — all together the cart gave them the 
greatest amusement they had known since coming 
to the colony. 

Mr. Francis also bought a saddle for Toys and 
Halde, and taught them to ride. They soon acquired 
a firm seat, and when their parents went out driving 
the boys would accompany them, taking turns on 
the pony. 

All this was pleasant indeed. Unfortunately 
James had not been accustomed to regular work; 
and good habits, like industry and attention, take 
time to grow. Duty and self-control were virtues 
unknown to him, and as they are hard to practice, 
even by boys who have often heard of them, it cannot 
be wondered that James did not succeed. 

First, there was trouble about Tubbing the horse 


256 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

down after the evening drive. Then as James had 
always taken his meals when he could get them, he 
thought a horse might do the same, and fed poor 
Darling at any hour of the day. 

In vain Mr. Francis said, ‘‘This won’t do, James.” 
Cook had to give out the oats at the proper time and 
see that James put it into the manger. Sometimes 
even this did not answer, for the boy could not be 
found and cook had to feed the horse herself. 

As the children drove out but once a day, Mr. 
Francis ordered James to exercise the horse every 
morning. This order he obeyed, but it was soon 
found that the attraction was a race-course near 
town where he took Darling and ran him nearly to 
death. 

Mr. Francis again warned James to behave and 
forbade him to race the horse any more. The next 
day, however, as Mr. Francis was shaving by the 
window he saw Darling’s tail vanish through the 
gate. James, thinking that no one was up at such 
an early hour, had taken the horse away unfed and 
brought him back from the race-course without a 
dry hair. 

For his disobedience James got a thrashing, which 
he well deserved, and for two or three days suc- 
ceeded in being a good boy. At the end of this time, 
Mr. Francis on entering the stable could scarcely 
believe his eyes. There stood poor Darling, his 


257 


The Pony Cart 

mane fringing the top of his neck like a mule’s, his 
forelock cut short over his eyes, and his beautiful 
long tail trimmed up to the flesh. 

“What did you do that for.?” asked Mr. Francis, 
in amazement. 

“Me thought he look more better dat way.” 

No one could tell whether James really thought so, 
or if he had done the thing out of revenge for his 
beating; but Mr. Francis was so disgusted that he 
told the boy he would keep him no longer. 

To this Toys and Halde greatly objected. James 
mended their toys or made others, he could tell 
nice stories on rainy days, he knew about plants, 
trees, and birds, and had become such a part of their 
lives that they were very fond of him. 

“Father, you have often said that good habits 
take time to grow,” pleaded Toys. “Do give James 
another chance.” 

“His good habits may have just begun to sprout,” 
added Halde, encouragingly. 

“I am afraid the ground is already filled with bad 
ones,” returned Mr. Francis. “Do you remember 
when you thought that if James were well dressed 
he would be a nice boy .? It seems to me the more 
he is dressed, the worse he becomes.” 

“Only try him again. Father.” 

“I am willing. Though if James does not also 
try, it will be of no use.” 
s 


258 Two Boys in the Tropics 

“Halde and I will both beg him to try hard/’ 

After this, it seemed as though James really grew 
better; but the pony now caused the family anxiety. 
The poor horse became thinner each day and ap- 
peared to be ill. James asked for more oats, claim- 
ing that the pony did not have enough to eat, and 
Mrs. Francis ordered that five pints be given at a 
meal, instead of three. Still Darling showed no 
improvement. His hip bones stuck out, his ribs 
looked like the hoops on a barrel, his head hung 
listlessly down, and, with his rough mane and short 
tail, a more miserable animal could not be seen. 

Mr. Francis sent for a horse-doctor who looked 
very wise and gave Darling some large pills. The 
pony took the pills, the food disappeared from his 
manger as usual, yet he continued to grow thinner. 
No one could explain the mystery, until on going to 
the stable one morning just after feeding time, Mr. 
Francis found the manger bare, and it struck him as 
strange that the pony could finish his oats so quickly. 

James, being questioned on the subject, looked 
guilty. Mr. Francis had him watched, and it was 
soon found that the boy, instead of feeding Darling, 
had sold the oats to a cabman. 

“Me a bad boy for true,” admitted James, when 
he saw that his dishonesty had been discovered. 
“But jest you whip me and try me again.” 

“A boy must have courage enough to be good 


The Pony Cart 


259 

without a whipping, or he will never be worth any- 
thing,” said Mr. Francis, sternly. 

‘‘Den try me without a whipping.” 

“You deserve to suffer for your cruelty to the 
horse, James, but I will not whip you. As soon as 
I can get a boy in your place I will do so. Mean- 
while, cook must feed the horse.” 

To get another boy who could manage the pony 
was not easy. Two weeks went by, and during this 
time James did so much better that nothing more 
was said about sending him away. Pay-day came 
and he received his wages; but alas! here ended his 
good behavior. That evening he drove so reck- 
lessly that he ran over a woman in the street. 

James’ care and skill in riding had been his best 
points, and now that he could not be trusted in this 
respect it was useless to think of keeping him any 
longer. Even Loys and Halde had nothing to say 
in his defence. 

It was soon known that the place was vacant, and 
a number of boys applied for the position. Every 
morning Darling’s saddle was put on and the 
would-be grooms rode up and down the garden to 
show what they could do. Mr. Erancis and the gar- 
dener stood by in case of accident. This was very 
necessary, for a fast trotting horse is not easy to ride. 
In fact they all did so badly that Mr. Erancis con- 
cluded he would have to train a groom himself. 


260 Two Boys in the Tropics 

The boy’s name was William. At first he would 
insist on mounting from the right side, instead of the 
left. He would have his stirrups too short, and rose 
so high at each jolt that he looked as if about to dive 
over the horse’s head. His elbows stood out on each 
side like the sails of a windmill, and he pulled so 
hard at the bridle that Darling, whose mouth was 
tender, danced about with pain. 

The lesson began: ‘‘Are your stirrups just long 
enough that you can rise on them the least bit in 
trotting ?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Now, mount. Stop! Start from the left side.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Sit straight.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Hold the reins loosely.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Take the whip in the right hand, laying it across 
the bridle.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“When you want the pony to go, speak to him, 
then touch him lightly with the whip. Mind, speak 
before you touch him.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“When you want him to stop, don’t jerk the bridle, 
but first say Whoa, then tighten the reins gradually.” 

“Yes, sir.” 


26 i 


The Pony Cart 

“Hold on with your thighs and rise as little as 
possible with the horse’s trot.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“ Now, ofF ! ” 

The boy started down the garden and Darling 
threw up his head impatiently. 

“You are dragging at the bridle,” called Mr. 
Francis. 

“If me don’t hold on, sir, me fall off.” 

“Stop! Where did you ever ride before?” 

“No place. Me work on board a ship.” 

Mr. Francis laughed. “No wonder you hold on 
tightly; you think you are still at the masthead. 
Press the horse with your thighs, and you will soon 
feel safe.” 

William showed great eagerness to learn, and it 
was not long until he was able to ride out with the 
children. He was a trustworthy boy and took good 
care of the pony, which, being now regularly fed and 
watered, became once more the healthy, spirited Dar- 
ling of old. 


CHAPTER XXXI 


THE COOLIE HOUSE 

T he children soon became fond of William; he 
knew many Nancy stories and was even more 
skillful with his hands than James. 

When they told him of the boat and the kites James 
made for them, he said jealously: ‘"Oh, dat nigger, 
he know nothing ! Me make you a coolie house.” 
“What is a coolie house.?” asked Loys. 

“Dat am de house de coolie live in. You buy de 
materials in de market and me put it up.” 

“Wouldn’t that be lovely, Halde, to have a house 
for our very own ! But now that we have the pony 
cart. Father would not want to give us anything so 
expensive ; and I only have two dollars in my money 
bank.” 

“I have one,” added Halde, cheerfully. 

“Dat be plenty enough,” said William. “Coolie 
house cost two dollars.” 

The boys ran to their parents. “Mother,” ex- 
claimed Loys, who arrived first in the room, “ William 
says he can put up a coolie house for us if we buy 
the materials.” 


262 


The Coolie House 


263 


‘Tt only costs two dollars, and you can get them 
at the market,’’ supplemented Halde, who was not 
far behind. 

“But, my dears, William must be joking. Who 
ever heard of buying a house at the market, and for 
such a price.” 

“William is right,” said Mr. Francis. “You can 
buy everything that is needed to build the house: 
the posts and cross-pieces for the framework, a mat- 
ting of split reeds which is used for the walls, and 
bunches of long-leaved reeds with which the roof is 
made. I don’t know what the price of such a house 
is, but as coolies seldom earn more than two dollars 
a week they cannot afford a palace.” 

“Then may we have our house asked Loys, 
as spokesman for both. 

“I have no objections, if you are sure you want it.” 

“Indeed we do. Father!” exclaimed the boys, 
with conviction. 

“Very well; to-morrow you can go with William 
and make your first investment in real estate.” 

The boys began to dress before dawn and were 
at the market by six. William led the way to the 
wharf, alongside of which lay a number of boats 
filled with supplies of all kinds from the interior. 
Seeing a punt laden with wood, William asked the 
man if he had any posts for building a coolie house. 
There happened to be enough left for one house, 


264 Two Boys in the Tropics 

the posts and cross-pieces already cut the right 
length and notched so that they could be easily 
fitted together. The boatman also had the leaves 
for the thatch, and coils of tough bush-rope vines for 
tying the framework in place. 

It required some time and much arguing on the 
part of William to persuade the man that anything 
above two dollars for such a dwelling would be 
robbery. The boatman finally agreed to the price 
and unloaded the materials on the wharf. 

Toys handed over the money and looked helplessly 
at the pile. ‘‘We surely can’t carry it home. It is 
too heavy.” 

“You mus’ get a donkey cart,” advised William. 

This was done, and Halde had his dollar changed 
to pay the driver. He wished also to buy a pine- 
apple for his mother, but William stopped him, say- 
ing, “You keep dat money; we have yet no sides 
to dat house.” 

“Will we buy the sides to-day.?” 

“No; we build dat house first.” 

The cart was unloaded in the garden and a shady 
site decided upon. William, with the help of the 
gardener, scraped the ground level and beat it down 
to form the floor. The boys then fetched their 
father’s yardstick and staked off* the plan, which was 
ten feet long and eight feet wide. Four deep holes 
were dug for the corner posts, and fourteen smaller 



A Coolie Girl dressed in her Best 








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The Coolie House 265 

holes for the side posts, after which the real work of 
putting up the house was begun. 

It took a week to get the framework into place and 
a few more days to cover the roof. The strangest 
thing about the little house, however, was neither 
the short time in which it was built, nor its cheapness, 
but the fact that everything was tied together instead 
of being nailed. 

The walls remained yet to be covered, and the 
boys made one more trip to the market, where Halde’s 
money was spent for mats of reeds. These were 
fastened to the framework, a large opening being 
left in front for the door, and two other openings at 
the sides for the windows. 

Toys and Halde were very proud of their house, 
which they continued to improve whenever they had 
time. They hung bright prints on the walls, moved 
in a table and some chairs, put up window-curtains, 
planted jessamine vines around the door, and made 
the place in every way as cosy as possible. 

Here were spent many pleasant hours. Every 
fine morning the boys would have their breakfast 
served in the coolie house, and such a jolly breakfast 
it would be, with their animal friends as guests. 
Billy, the toucan, was a steady visitor, as well as the 
troupial; Snap, of course, was ever present, and poor 
Hanna would be let out of her cage now and then 
to join the party. Darling, it was decided, was too 


266 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

big to be invited; but sometimes there would be a 
noise of hoofs outside, and pretty soon the pony’s 
head would appear through the window after a lump 
of sugar. Other parties were given in the afternoon 
for the boys’ school friends, and in the evening Toys 
and Halde would sit at, their own door reading their 
books or studying their lessons. 

The dry season did not end without the boys 
becoming what Dr. Davis called ‘‘better acquainted” 
with the ants. One night, shortly after Halde went 
to bed, he called out to his mother that something 
was biting him. Going to his room, Mrs. Francis 
found that a swarm of black ants had overrun the 
bed and were attacking him on all sides. Carla 
beat out the mattress thoroughly and changed the 
covers, but Halde preferred sleeping with his brother 
for the night. 

Next day Mrs. Francis had the room scrubbed, and 
poured boiling water into all the cracks that she 
could see. 

“It is of no use, ma’am,” said Carla; “that will not 
keep the ants away.” 

“What will inquired Mrs. Francis. 

“Nothing!” 

“Nonsense, Carla; you don’t mean to say we must 
sit still and be eaten up.” 

“If Coushee ants come, you would not sit still, 
ma’am; they clear out the whole house before them 


The Coolie House 267 

and drive the owners away. But this kind only tease 
a little.’’ 

The ‘Teasing” took many forms. The next night, 
in spite of the scrubbing and hot water, Loys was 
attacked in his bed. The cook advised tying tow 
around the feet of the bedstead. This odd remedy 
was tried, and the little insects, bewildered by the 
tangle of fibres, were unable to pass the barrier. 

There were, however, few places that they could 
not reach. The feet of the safe in the pantry were 
stood in tins of soapy water, but the ants attempted 
to cross in such numbers that enough drowned to 
make a bridge for the others. 

No shelf was too high for them. They emptied a 
can of sewing-machine oil, a bottle of cough medicine, 
and a box of salve; and a lock having been greased, 
no one could open the door without getting a few 
bites. 

The cook had the most trouble. If any food was 
left uncovered, or a spoon that had been used was 
carelessly forgotten, hundreds came to the feast, 
the greedy creatures, in their search for a dinner, 
even walking up the pots on the stove when the fire 
was not too hot. 

They went foraging on all sides, and when one of 
their number found a dainty morsel he would rush 
off to Ant-town and bring back an army of his fel- 
lows to drag the prey home. Sometimes they would 


268 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

attack a live worm too heavy to carry away, and after 
stinging it to death, the whole colony would come out 
and picnic in the open air until it was all eaten. 

Nothing was too large or too small for them. 
One night they attacked a mouse that had been 
caught in a trap, and in the morning nothing was 
left but its skeleton. They also climbed down the 
string from which hung a bird-cage, and killed a pet 
mocking-bird that belonged to Mr. Francis. 

A brood of young thrushes came near meeting the 
same fate. Their nest, which had been built on the 
limb of a small cocoanut tree, was blown down by a 
gust of wind and had landed on top of an ant-hill. 
It was not often that the ants had such a feast laid at 
their very gates. If any of them were sick in bed 
that day, they must have got up to join the slaugh- 
ter. The baby thrushes were too young to fly, and 
could only chirp in a pitiful way. Before they were 
much hurt, however. Toys, attracted by their cries, 
came to their rescue. 

The restless little creatures were found everywhere : 
on the cakes and jam, on the flowers and the fruit, 
in the cups and saucers — one did not even dare drink 
a glass of water in the dark. They were red, black, 
and white, large and small, winged and without wings. 
Some built in trees, making nests of mud two feet 
around, some built on the ground, and some beneath 
it. But whatever their way of living, the seventy 


The Coolie House 


269 


different kinds of ants that infest Guiana seem to 
have one aim in common — to clear the world of 
everything except themselves. 

At last the welcome raindrops began to fall and the 
frogs were heard filling the ponds with noise — a sure 
sign of wet weather. The ants then left the house to 
feed on the young verdure, and for a time the house 
was rid of the worst of them. 

‘‘Father,” said Loys one evening, as he stood in the 
dusk by the dining-room window, “there is a singular 
tree in our neighbor’s garden. Every night it looks 
withered, and in the morning it is just as fresh as 
ever.” 

“That is queer,” answered Mr. Francis; “but come 
downstairs and we will search the cause.” 

The tree covered a space larger than a circus tent. 
Its rough limbs laced the air in every direction, 
looking as if they must break off from the trunk by 
their own weight. This heavy framework supported 
a mass of green, which rose like a gently sloping 
meadow and trembled with the slightest breeze. 

“This is called a saman tree,” observed Mr. Fran- 
cis. “While it seems the desire of the palm to reach 
as great a height as possible, the saman tree only 
thinks of spreading out. The width of this one is 
twice its height. What a fine shelter it would 
make for an army, except for one thing.” 

“What is that. Father 


270 Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘The leaves are placed opposite each other on 
their stem, as those of the locust tree, and at night 
each leaf closes against the one facing it. I wonder 
if the tree finds it troublesome putting her million 
children to sleep when dusk begins, and waking them 
with each new day. Such a family! The woman 
who lived in a shoe had an easy task in comparison.’’ 

Some time later the tree bloomed. At least twenty 
thousand flowers studded the dark green dome, 
making an enormous bouquet which measured fifty 
feet across. Each flower was a circle about three 
inches across, formed of thread-like petals, white at 
the base and bluish pink at the ends. Nothing could 
be a greater contrast than these delicate blossoms 
quivering in the sunlight, and the rugged trunk, 
heavy limbs, and dark shadows below; and what 
a feast they made for humming-birds, bees, butter- 
flies, and winged insects large and small ! 

The boys had another flowery surprise at about 
this time. The thread-and-needle plant, from which 
James had taken his kite string, was seen swelling 
and throwing up a huge stalk from the centre of its 
fat green leaves. This grew until it measured eight- 
een inches around the base and reached a height 
of thirty-four feet. Along this pole appeared a 
number of branches, which later were filled with bell- 
shaped flowers about an inch long. 

“Boys, do you think you could count how many 


The Coolie House 


271 

flowers there are on this stalk?’’ asked Mr. Francis, 
when the plant was in full bloom. 

“That would take weeks !” exclaimed Loys. 

“Come, let us try,” insisted his father. “The 
branches will not be difficult to count.” 

“Oh, no!” and after a few minutes’ busy silence 
both boys shouted, “Forty.” 

“Now, count the small branches on one large one. 
This branch near us will do.” 

“It has thirty,” answered Loys, ahead of his 
brother. 

“ Some branches have more, some less. Now count 
the flowers on one small twig.” 

“That is easy! This one has twelve.” 

“I have brought a piece of paper and a pencil. 
We have only to multiply forty by thirty, and the 
product by twelve. How many do you suppose 
that makes ?” 

“Isn’t it better you tell us. Father?” suggested 
Halde. 

“Fourteen thousand four hundred flowers!” 

“Are you quite sure you are right. Father?” 

“This is what is known as making an average. 
But I am sure it is not too many, for I have read of 
a plant bearing sixteen thousand. It is called the 
century plant, because ignorant people believed that 
it bloomed only when a hundred years old, and then 
burst suddenly into flower with a loud report.” 


272 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘How old do you think this one is ?” 

“About four years old. The plant generally 
blooms in that time and dies after remaining in 
flower nine months and throwing out a number of 
suckers, from which the new plants are produced. 
I know a place along the road where there are several 
full-grown plants. We must go and see if they are 
in bloom.’’ 

That evening the family drove to the place. It 
was a beautiful sight. Five plants stood in a row, 
their huge poles covered with a shower of yellow 
blossoms, seventy thousand of them, shining like 
gold against the pale blue sky. 


CHAPTER XXXII 


SEEING BETTER THAN GUESSING 

I NSTEAD of spending one year in British Guiana, 
as they had first intended, the family had 
remained several years in the tropics. At last 
the return home was spoken of. The boys were in- 
deed sorry to leave their friends, their pets, and their 
lovely garden ; but when they saw their mother happy 
and smiling as she went about the house getting ready, 
they, too, began to think that nothing could be better 
than ‘Agoing home.’’ 

Some time before starting Mr. Francis said, 
‘‘ My dear boys, you are now older than when we 
came out, and should try to know something of the 
places we may see on our voyage.” 

‘‘There is nothing but water and flying-fish and 
seaweed all the way. I remember quite well,” re- 
plied Loys. 

“There will be more than that this trip. I am 
going to rake a steamer that touches at some of the 
islands of the West Indies. How would you like to 
stop at Robinson Crusoe’s island ?” 

T 273 


274 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

“Oh, do, Father!'' shouted Halde; “I want so 
much to talk with him." 

“You forget that Robinson is only a man out of a 
story-book." 

“Then he never had an island at all," said Loys, 
looking disappointed. 

“ His island is there, but Robinson was never on it," 
replied Mr. Francis, shaking his head. 

“How can that be 

“Stories are of two kinds: those of impossible 
beings, such as giants and fairies, who no doubt 
were believed in when the tales were first told; and 
those of people who, although they never lived, are 
made to appear real and are placed in real surround- 
ings. The best modern stories are of real life, and 
‘Robinson Crusoe’ is one of this kind. Would you 
like to hear how it came to be written ?" 

The boys both answered that “of course they 
would,” and Mr. Francis began: — 

“‘Robinson Crusoe' was written in 1719, almost 
two hundred years ago, by an Englishman named Dan- 
iel Defoe. Shortly before that time, Alexander Sel- 
kirk, a Scotchman, sailed to the Pacific, where, it 
appears, he quarreled with every one on board, until, 
upon his request, both captain and crew agreed to put 
him on shore at the first land they sighted. This 
happened to be the island of Juan Fernandez, which 
is on the west coast of South America. Here, with a 


Seeing better than Guessing 275 

few scant provisions left by the captain, and whatever 
he could manage to bring down with his gun, Selkirk 
lived four years and a half, when he was rescued by 
a passing ship and taken back to England. Defoe 
had the sense to see in this adventure a good founda- 
tion for a story, and wrote ‘Robinson Crusoe’ eight 
years after Selkirk’s return.” 

“But how are we going to get home by the west 
side of South America inquired Loys, who had 
been studying geography. 

“We are not going that way. Many people have 
made the mistake of accepting Juan Fernandez 
as Robinson Crusoe’s island. I have even seen a 
child’s geography in which it is so marked. But 
beyond the first idea, Defoe took very little from Sel- 
kirk’s adventure.” 

“Where, then, do you think is Robinson’s island. 
Father.?” asked Halde, becoming interested. 

“Tobago suits Defoe’s description better than any 
other island : it can be considered to lie in the 
‘mouth or gulph of the mighty river Oroonoko,’ 
as the currents east and west of the island are caused 
by that river; it has coral reefs, hills and valleys; 
ships or the boats of savages could go or be driven to it 
in a storm; and Trinidad can be seen from it on a 
clear day.” 

“And are we really going there 

“It will be our first stop.” 


276 Two Boys in the Tropics 

“William is from Tobago. Let us ask him if he 
ever heard of Robinson Crusoe/’ suggested Halde. 

“Just as you like/’ agreed Mr. Francis, and the 
next moment he could hear the boys questioning the 
groom. 

“William, do you know anything about Robinson 
Crusoe ?” 

“He one of de old time folks, he dead too long. 
But me see dat cave where he live.” 

“Are you sure ?” 

“Me sure, sure! It about three mile from Scar- 
borough. Me been to dat same cave too often.” 

Halde waited no longer, but rushing back to Mr. 
Francis, called out while still on the stairs: “Oh, 
Father, Robinson Crusoe did truly live! William 
has seen his very cave at Tobago.” 

Mr. Francis laughed. 

“Now, Father,” said Toys, just entering, ^‘don’t 
you think William ought to know .? He has been 
there and you have not. Besides, I would rather 
believe it, and I think I will.” 

“Many people reason in the same way, my Toys. 
They believe what suits them rather than search for 
the truth.” 

“ But we have searched, and William says Robinson 
is true.” 

“I know the natives of the West Indies generally 
believe Crusoe to be a real man and look upon him 


Seeing better than Guessing 277 

as the first settler of Tobago. Many of them who 
have never heard of Christopher Columbus can tell 
you the whole history of Robinson Crusoe.’’ 

‘‘Then why should he not be true?” persisted 
Loys. 

“If you read the book carefully, you will see 
that neither Robinson nor Defoe were ever in the 
tropics.” 

“Oh, Father! How can any one write about a 
place he has never seen ?” 

“Defoe could hear and read about the place he 
described; for Columbus discovered Tobago in 1498, 
and at the time of the story the island was settled 
by English and Dutch colonists. Nothing, how- 
ever, could make up for the author not having been 
there himself ; and, as was natural, his book contains 
many mistakes.” 

The boys were still unconvinced, and Mr. Francis 
proposed that their mother read the book aloud in the 
evenings, so they might talk over the different things 
mentioned in the story. 

The children, who loved nothing better than to hear 
their mother read, agreed to this plan. 

Next day, after the tea things had been taken 
away, Loys brought the book. 

“We will now open the trial of Robinson Crusoe,” 
announced Mr. Francis. “I will prosecute, and you 
boys must defend his statements. Mother will 


2yS 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

be the Judge and William a witness. Who shall 
begin 

“The cave must be true, for William saw it,” 
shouted Halde. 

“Tobago is largely composed of soft limestone, 
and caves no doubt are to be found there; so we 
will let Robinson have his cave. But how about the 
ants that must have come to eat his stores ? He 
forgets to mention them.” 

At this, Loys ran downstairs to William and asked 
if there were ants in Tobago. 

“Yes, plenty, jest like here,” was the reply. 

The evidence being against him, Loys had to ad- 
mit this to be an oversight, for he knew the trouble 
these little pests could give. 

“And snakes ?” continued Mr. Francis. “Robin- 
son never speaks of them.” 

This time Halde ran to William. “Any snakes 
in your island, William ?” 

“ Plenty ! Black snakes, an’ yellow-tails, bad, bad. 
Camoudi there too.” 

“Still, Robinson might not have happened to meet 
them,” remarked Halde, on returning. 

“Traveling about as he did during twenty-eight 
years, that is not likely. He must have also seen 
alligators, lizards, big and little, and iguanas.” 

“ Are they really there ” 

“Certainly.” 


Seeing better than Guessing 279 

“ Perhaps he did see them, and got so frightened that 
he was ashamed to tell any one,’’ said Halde, after a 
pause. 

There was a shout of laughter in which every one 
joined. Mr. Francis called Halde a clever lawyer, 
then went on : — 

“The noisy tree frogs in the still night, when Robin- 
son wished to sleep, and the land frogs and bats, — 
would he not have noticed them ?” 

Halde being silent, Loys felt the answer rested with 
him. “After all. Father, those things are not im- 
portant. Robinson had to be thinking of getting 
food. He could not eat frogs and snakes and 
ants, so he did not bother about them. Now the 
minute he sees goats, you hear of it, because they 
are useful.” 

“A good argument, Loys, but he could not have 
seen goats. They are not native on the island, and 
unless left by a passing ship would not have been 
there.” 

Mrs. Francis stopped the discussion by saying 
that, if she did not soon begin reading, they would 
hear nothing before bedtime. 

“ Please, Mother, read from the time when 
Robinson got to the island.” 

Mrs. Francis did as desired,' and the boys listened 
carefully, that they might be ready for the next dis- 
cussion. They also questioned William the following 


200 Two Boys in the Tropics 

day, and by evening felt they knew a great deal about 
Tobago. 

“One thing always present, and impossible for 
any man living in the tropics to forget, is the heat,’’ 
were Mr. Francis’ first words when they again 
seated themselves around the table. 

“Robinson often speaks of the heat,” objected 
Loys. “Don’t you remember he writes in his 
journal that if he had clothes he could hardly have 
worn them ? ” 

“Yes; and later he dresses himself in goatskins, 
and poor Friday also. He speaks of the heat, but 
forgets the effects of heat. When he kills a goat, he 
tells of it lasting him a long time, whereas fresh meat 
would have been entirely spoiled in a day.” 

“But turtles are true,” broke in Halde; “William 
says they are plentiful in Tobago.” 

“And any amount of fish, and parrots, and pi- 
geons,” added Loys. 

Mr. Francis nodded assent. “But at the same 
time Robinson saw penguins and seals, neither of 
which live in Tobago, while he does not notice those 
queer-looking pelicans along the shore, nor the beauti- 
ful little humming-birds, nor the thrushes, whose 
song would have surely recalled his home.” 

“Still, he found cocoanut trees, oranges, limes, 
tobacco, and sugar-cane. William says there are 
whole plantations of sugar-cane in Tobago.” 


Seeing better than Guessing 281 

‘"That is true, Toys, but Defoe made a mistake in 
thinking sugar-cane to be a native of the West Indies. 
It was introduced there from India in 1520; only 
Robinson could not have found it on an island that he 
says had never before been visited by a white man. 
It is the same with goats, which are not native to the 
West Indies, although they were taken there by the 
early explorers. The grapes that he found in such 
abundance were another mistake ; for the vines do not 
thrive well in the tropics, and those that are here 
were originally brought over from Europe.’’ 

“You want to leave poor Robinson nothing to eat,” 
pouted Halde. 

“No, indeed, he could have picked pineapples, 
guavas, and many other fruits growing wild in the 
woods. For a drink, he could have had cocoa; 
the tree bearing it is a native of the West Indies. 
Deer were also in plenty, which he could have 
tamed as he did his goats. There was red pepper 
for his soup, and nuts of various kinds for des- 
sert — I wonder he did not make better use of his 



“He did use his eyes. Father; only he says that 
he knew very little of plants, and so he might have 
poisoned himself had he tasted everything,” ex- 
plained Loys. 

Mother now began to read, after which the children 
went to bed. 


282 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

The next evening Toys finished his tea in a hurry, 
and Mr. Francis, seeing he had something on his 
mind, said, '‘Well, my boy, what is it.?” 

"I am thinking that Robinson was all right with his 
barley and rice, because he brought the seed to the 
island himself.” 

"He might have planted barley, but could never 
have reaped it, as the weather is too warm for the 
grains to form. Instead, he should have spoken of 
Indian corn, which, like tobacco, is indigenous or 
native to the warm parts of America.” 

"But surely rice grows in warm climates!” ex- 
claimed Mrs. Francis, forgetting she was judge, and 
joining in the discussion. 

"It does, and produces an excellent crop if planted 
in the proper ground. Had Robinson been a real 
person, he would have told how he chose a marshy 
spot near his stream from which a ditch could have 
been dug to flood the rice at certain times. This 
would have given him an abundant harvest.” 

"I don’t know what to think of Robinson,” said 
Toys, gravely, "it seems as if he wanted to fool 
people.” 

‘‘Oh, Loysie! Robinson tells plenty of true 
things. Now about his earthen pots and jugs — 
William says there is good clay for making them in 
Tobago; even the children there make toy dishes of 
it and build little ovens to bake them in. I wish we 



A Family of Carib Indians 





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Seeing better than Guessing 283 

would stop in Tobago long enough to do that, too. 
Do you think we can, Father 

‘‘I am afraid not, Halde. We will be there only 
a day.” 

‘‘I wish we could stay longer,” said Loys. ‘‘It 
is not fair to say things are not there unless we see 
for ourselves.” 

“You must remember we have been living in the 
same climate as that of Tobago, and therefore we can 
judge of the conditions on the island.” 

Loys thought awhile. “In that case the wet and 
dry seasons must have been there; and the earth- 
quake as well.” 

“Yes, Defoe evidently took pains to make his isl- 
and as real as possible. He does not put the seasons 
at exactly the right time; but as they are not always 
regular, that can pass. There is much that is good 
in the book ; I do not know of any story more interest- 
ing or better thought out. Defoe sails his ship like a 
sailor, he mentions the rapid growth of trees, the 
Carib savages that live near and the currents that 
bring them, the great river Orinoco and the hazy 
land in the distance. All these, as I said before, he 
had heard or read about; but when he comes to tell 
of Robinson’s daily life, that is, to see for himself, 
Defoe, except for a few remarks about the heat, 
forgets he is in the tropics and describes what might 
have taken place in his own country.” 


284 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

Toys looked almost convinced, but Halde remarked 
stubbornly, ‘‘A man all alone on a new island could 
not know everything.’’ 

"‘Defoe places Robinson there twenty-eight years, 
so he had time to find out many things, and besides 
he might have learned a great deal from Friday : how 
to make ropes, hammocks, and cloth from the fibres of 
plants and of cotton ; how to make bark sandals and 
palm-spathe hats, more suitable than those of goat- 
skin ; or how to catch fish with nets plaited of reeds, 
or by poisoning them with macheneel, a tree the 
bark of which if thrown into the water will cause all 
the fish to rise to the surface where they can be easily 
caught by hundreds.” 

“William told me they do that now when they go 
picnicking in Tobago,” remarked Toys. 

“So I have heard. Fish caught in this way are 
perfectly healthy food ; the Indians know of several 
plants which they use for the same purpose.” 

“Now, Father, you were talking of fresh meat 
spoiling in hot countries. What could Robinson do 
with such a quantity of fish objected Halde. 

“Friday would know how to smoke and dry them 
upon a lattice of branches over the fire ; or he might 
have prepared casareep, the boiled juice of the bitter 
cassava, which if poured over a pot of meat or fish 
will keep the food good for months. This, with the 
addition of peppers, makes a favorite Indian dish 



A Family of Indians and their Pets 





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Seeing better than Guessing 285 

called pepper-pot. Casareep has a pleasant taste, 
and besides preserving the meat, makes it tender. 
Many white people are fond of it, and it would have 
been a great addition to Robinson’s table.” 

"‘I think after all that Friday could have taught 
Robinson more than Robinson taught him,” said 
Loys, thoughtfully. 

“The Indians have many ways of taking fish 
besides poisoning,” continued Mr. Francis. “A 
queer trap is formed of a piece of bark, some five 
feet long, rolled into a cylinder the size of a common 
stovepipe. One end is closed, and a small live fish 
is fastened to it in the inside. The trap is then hung 
by the middle to the branch of a tree and sunk about 
two feet under water. By and by, in goes a big fish 
to catch the bait. The weight of the fish tilts the 
trap as soon as the centre is passed, and the fish 
remains standing on its head until taken out. 

“Indians also shoot fish with bows and arrows, 
and are so skillful in throwing a hook and line that 
they can make it touch any spot in the water they 
wish. As fish are plentiful in Tobago, Friday might 
have given his master a mess every morning.” 

“Where would he get hooks and lines, especially 
hooks f Robinson says in one place that he had 
none.” 

“He could make the line of fibre, the hooks of 
monkey bones.” 


286 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

^‘Are there monkeys in Tobago 

‘‘Certainly; the woods are full of little saka- 
winkies/^ 

“Oh, Father ! I am sorry Robinson did not know 
it. If he had only caught one like our Winkie, 
he never would have felt lonely with his parrot and a 
monkey for company.’’ 


CHAPTER XXXIII 


INDIAN GAMES 

D O you believe, Father, that Indians are 
more intelligent than white people ?” asked 
Loys, when they renewed the discussion 
next evening. 

“What makes you think so, my boy.?” 

“Well, you said Friday could have made so many 
useful things that Robinson did not know about.” 

“That is because an Indian’s education prepares 
him better to live in a wild country than does ours.” 
“Are Indians really educated .?” 

“What do you call an education, Loys .?” 

“Being taught something and learning it.” 

“Very good. Shall I tell you how Indian boys 
learn to shoot.?” 

“Do they go to school.?” inquired Halde. 

“Of course they do. Their school is a slanting 
piece of ground, not too far from the village. Here, 
on fine days, the women, the girls, and the boys of the 
tribe meet, the former carrying green calabashes, 
the latter their bows and arrows. A lively scene 
follows. The young hunters stand at a short distance 
287 


288 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

from the bottom of the hill, while the women and 
girls go to the top. Then one of the girls stoops and 
starts a calabash whirling down the slope. 

“OIF it goes, bouncing over stones, curving around 
some roughness in the way; now hidden by a tuft of 
grass, then out again, rolling sideways, zigzag, 
straight, slow or fast — no one can count on its 
next motion. 

“Watchful and eager, the boys make ready. 
Bows are bent, arrows are aimed, every eye is directed 
towards the moving target. A few of the younger 
boys, too excited to wait, let fly while the ball is yet 
out of range. An arrow sent by a strong arm goes 
beyond the mark, another has been aimed too low, 
and still another is about to strike, when the prey, 
leaping suddenly, escapes. Now they come in vol- 
leys. The air is full of whizzing and rushing arrows. 
One almost pities the poor calabash; pricked and 
pierced on all sides, it moves slower, and at last 
stops. 

‘‘ The children shout ; more calabashes, sometimes 
several together, are set off, and the lesson continues. 
Though it is so simple, I have never seen a better 
training for the end in view; strength, skill, and 
judgment are all exercised.’’ 

“ Let us try it to-morrow,” cried Toys. ‘‘ Do, 
Father; you have bows and arrows in the gallery 
and there is a calabash tree in the garden.” 



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Indian Games 


289 


Please, Father,” begged Halde. 

“We have no hill.” 

“A board set against the fence will do, and William 
can roll the calabashes for us,” suggested Loys. 

“Very well, then. You can also get William to 
nail strips on each side of the board so that the cala- 
bashes will not fall off.” 

The boys shouted like little Indians and ran to 
consult William about a proper board and the place 
to put it. No more was seen of them that evening, 
but towards bedtime they came back for a bit, 
without which nothing can be done in the colony. 
This time it was for nails. 

By the time the boys were dressed in the morning, 
William had made a kind of wooden trough. On 
leaning this against the fence, higher or lower, you 
could regulate the speed of the calabash; though at 
first whether it rolled fast or slowly the children could 
not hit it. In fact, the bows and arrows from the 
gallery were too large for them. Later they attempted 
to make some for themselves. This also was a failure : 
the bows snapped and the arrows did not go straight. 

“You see, boys,” said Mr. Francis, “we know noth- 
ing, even speaking and walking, without learning it; 
Indians of your age make bows and arrows and are 
good marksmen, because they have lived where they 
could see these things well done and have copied 
what they saw.” 
u 


290 Two Boys in the Tropics 

“Do you think if we went to the interior we could 
learn to shoot well ?” asked Loys. 

“No doubt; but what is useful for an Indian boy 
to learn would be a waste of time for you. However, 
I will buy some small bows and arrows for you and 
Halde to play with, and meanwhile you may try the 
blowpipe hanging in the gallery.’’ 

The children ran off and soon returned carrying 
the blowpipe between them. This singular Indian 
weapon is formed of two tubes, about eight feet long, 
placed one within the other. The inside tube is a reed 
the smooth surface of which allows the arrows to 
pass through it freely; the outside covering serves to 
protect the reed, and is made from the stalk of a 
small palm, the pith of which is taken out after soak- 
ing it in water. The darts used are the tough and 
heavy midribs of the coucourite-palm leaf, and have 
silk-cotton wrapped around one end to make them 
fit tightly in the blowpipe. Although no larger 
than a steel knitting-needle, these darts are more 
dangerous than a bullet; for their points are smeared 
with wourali, a deadly poison. 

Loys had the first trial. He stuffed a dart into 
the breach and lifted the blowpipe to his mouth, 
but found it was too heavy for him to hold out straight. 
Halde then stationed himself at the far end and rested 
the pipe on his shoulder. This done, Loys, gather- 
ing all the wind his fat cheeks were able to hold. 


Indian Games 


291 


gave a pufF which sent the dart flying. William, 
busy watching the boys, forgot to let off the calabash. 
However, this did not matter, as the marksman 
had been too much engaged with blowing to take 
aim. 

It was now Halde’s turn. Mr. Francis pointed 
out to him the sight — a long white tooth of an agouti 
fastened with a kind of black gum near the end of 
the blowpipe — and told him to raise or lower the 
gun until this was on a level with the spot he wished 
to hit. 

Loys stood waiting to help hold the pipe and 
William was warned to be in readiness, when Halde, 
suddenly looking up, exclaimed, ‘‘But, Father, I 
don’t know where the calabash will be!” 

“True,” laughed Mr. Francis, “I forgot that the 
blowpipe is generally used for what our sportsmen 
call pot-hunting. The Indian steals quietly under 
a tree where birds are feeding, and as his arrows 
make no noise, he can hit any number without the 
others taking alarm. I will hang my hat on this 
branch for you to aim at, and we will keep the cala- 
bashes for when you have your bows and arrows.” 

At this moment Mrs. Francis came hurrying into 
the garden and called to her husband, “Is it possible 
you have given the children those poisoned darts to 
play with ! ” 

“Certainly not! Flow could you think I would 


2Q2 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

be so imprudent ? These are a few I had without 
poison. But, boys, it is getting hot, we must go in.” 

‘T have not had my shot,” cried out Halde, dis- 
satisfied. 

‘‘Well, puff away! I can’t do without my hat 
any longer.” 

Had Halde’s strength been equal to his effort, the 
dart would have gone through the hat. As this was 
not the case, it fell short of the mark, much to his 
disappointment. 

Now run into the house,” said Mr. Francis, taking 
his hat. “Come, come!” 

“We will never learn to shoot without practice,” 
began Loys, as they went upstairs. 

“I cannot let you stay in the sun.” 

“If we make a target, may we shoot in the house V’ 

“That is a good idea. Ask your mother to sew 
a round cushion of cloth for you. You can then stuff 
it with hay and paint the lines upon it.” 

This work occupied the boys until breakfast, 
after which they had a long trial with the blowpipe. 
Loys finally succeeded in hitting the bull’s-eye. 

“You must increase the distance little by little,” 
advised Mr. Francis, who had been called to see the 
dart still sticking in the target. “I have read that 
an Indian will send a dart three hundred feet, but 
it will be some time before a puff from either of your 
little mouths will do that.” 



Indians, with Dart, and Bow and Arrow 



Indian Games 


293 


Mr. Francis then called the boys’ attention to how 
the silk-cotton was wound spirally around the end 
of the dart to give it a circular motion when leaving 
the reed. 

‘‘And what is that for.^” asked Loys. 

“The twist makes the dart go straight, the same 
as a bullet shot from the grooved barrel of a gun. It 
is wonderful that the Indians should have discovered 
this device long before they had the opportunity 
to examine the rifles of the white men.” 

“Do any of the Indians have guns?” was Loys’s 
next question. ^ 

“Some of them buy guns from the white traders, 
and are very proud when they can own one. I 
must tell you of how several Indians made use 
of their guns to play a clever joke on a friend of 
mine. 

“He had a repeating rifle that could shoot ten times 
without reloading, and which was greatly admired 
by the Indians whenever he went to the interior. 
One day, as he was being rowed along the river, he 
heard six shots fired in rapid succession. Knowing 
that his was the only repeating rifle in the forest, he 
thought that a white traveler had arrived and or- 
dered his crew to paddle ashore. The place was 
deserted, but later he learned that six Indians, each 
with a gun, had arranged to fire them off one after 
the other in order to fool him.” 


294 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

Halde laughed. ‘‘What do Indian boys learn at 
school, besides shooting?’’ 

“Music,” answered his father. “The Warraus 
have a band-master who is called ho-ho-hit. Their 
instruments are flutes and pipes of reeds or bamboo 
with holes burned into them. These differ in size, 
from a few inches to five feet in length, and give a 
great variety of sounds. The band-master sits 
surrounded by his pupils, whom he directs with 
waving hands and nodding head, and by the sound 
of a small whistle. Other tribes make flutes out of 
the thigh-bone of the jaguar, like the one hanging 
in our gallery. Drums also are used, and bracelets 
and anklets of seeds that rattle as the musicians 
beat or stamp the time, which is generally in waltz 
measure.” 

“It is a pity Robinson did not get Friday to make 
a flute for him,” remarked Halde. “He could have 
passed many jolly evenings playing hornpipes.” 

“What else do Indian boys learn ?” inquired Loys. 

“They make boats from the spathe of a large 
palm, such as James once made for you, only bigger. 
The little canoes will each carry a single boy who 
paddles with his hands.” 

“I would like one to take home with us,” de- 
clared Halde. “Loys and I could paddle in the 
creek behind Bywater.” 

“Unfortunately, your canoe would dry and crack 



Copyright by B. L. Singley 

Indian Children 

The Little Girl in the Foreground carries her Little Brother on 
her Back, held fast in her Blanket 









Indian Games 


295 


before we got there. The Indian boys also play 
ball, and made India-rubber balls long before the 
white people thought of doing so, because the tree 
grows here.’’ 

“Any one can make balls,” said Toys. “What 
else do they do.^” 

“Indian boys wrestle, run races, dance, and go 
hunting with the older men of the tribe. Their 
parents are kind to them, and their life is not hard. 
But on the whole, I think you may be satisfied not to 
be one of them.” 

“I would like to be an Indian boy, just the same,” 
insisted Halde. 

“At least you can take the blowpipe and some 
bows and arrows to B)rwater when we return.” 

“We can hit quite well with the blowpipe now,” 
remarked Loys, “and William says that perhaps 
we can get some little bows and arrows from the 
Indians.” 

“That reminds me, I believe there are some 
Indians in town. Would you like to go and see them 
this evening ?” 

“Yes, indeed. Father!” 

“Then, it is possible that one may be kind enough 
to keep Halde, as he wishes to be an Indian.” 

Halde said nothing, but that evening when Mr. 
Francis and Loys were ready to start, he was nowhere 
to be found. It was only when they came home. 


296 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

bringing some small bows with a bundle of arrows, 
that he appeared from his hiding-place in the tower- 
Nothing more was said about being an Indian; but 
every morning the boys practised in the garden with 
their bows until they became skillful marksmen and 
could even hit a calabash when William rolled it 
along the walk. 


CHAPTER XXXIV 


ROBINSON Crusoe’s island 

T he day for the departure home finally arrived. 
No one in the house could help feeling excited 
and worried towards the last moment. There 
were so many trifles to think of. Each member of 
the family, besides his usual baggage, had some- 
thing he especially wished to carry along. The 
boys had their blowpipe and bows and arrows, as 
well as a parrot in a cage for Auntie; Mr. Francis 
took with him a collection of orchids, one of bird skins, 
and a number of Indian curiosities; while Mother 
packed several boxes of oranges, limes, cocoanuts, 
sugar-cane, and pineapples for kind friends in the 
States, and jars of guava and tamarind jelly for 
Grandmother. 

Snap, alas ! was the only pet that accompanied 
them. Joe, the puma, had been given to a zoo in 
New York; Darling had been sold to the father of 
one of the children’s friends, and Billy the toucan, 
Hanna, and the troupial were sent out in the country 
to Dr. Davis. 

297 


298 Two Boys in the Tropics 

It was evening when the family went on board 
the Barracouta. Toys and Halde were delighted 
with the large clean vessel, and took great pleasure 
in looking at it from end to end, inside and out, 
downstairs and up. Mr. Francis quickly got every- 
thing into the staterooms, and Mother put them in 
order. Their cabins were on deck, and just outside 
stood two easy-chairs they had brought for the 
journey. An awning covered this part of the steamer, 
making it shady throughout the day, and with books, 
toys, buns, and cakes, a more cosy spot could not be 
found. 

Presently the steam began to whisper through the 
pipes and escape in cloudy flakes from the vessel’s 
sides. The grimy stokers, who had been taking 
a breath of air on deck, went below, and the sounds 
of the engine became louder. Mr. Francis said, 
“Listen, boys, the engine is doing its packing up 
for the voyage.” Then the whistle shrieked as if 
to call “ready !” and a small cannon forward boomed 
out, “Passengers, hurry on board, we are about to 
weigh anchor.” 

Night had come as they moved slowly down the 
river, the twinkling windows on shore grew dim, 
while the stars brightened. Slipping on with the 
tide, the Barracouta soon reached the sea. At inter- 
vals flashes fell like spears from the revolving lamp 
in the lighthouse tower. Still a little farther, they 


Robinson Crusoe’s Island 299 

were met by what seemed to be a great red sun shin- 
ing from the opposite direction. This was the light- 
ship, where the steamer stopped to put off the pilot. 

The boys remained on deck until four bells. 
‘‘Tobago in the morning,” were their father’s last 
words when they crept into their berths. 

The morning came, but in spite of a quiet sea, all 
except Mr. Francis felt too ill to rise. 

“Something makes my stomach crawl !” exclaimed 
Halde, sadly. 

“Oh, Father, I don’t feel as if I could ever get up 
again ! ” groaned Loys. 

“There is one good thing about seasickness,” 
added Mr. Francis, cheerfully; “it leaves as quickly 
as it comes.” 

This was found to be the case. No sooner did 
the Barracouta begin to slacken speed and the green 
hills of Tobago peep through the cabin windows 
than the boys sat up ; and in a little time the rattling 
of chains, the pulling of ropes, and the noise of some- 
thing unusual going on made them so curious that 
they dressed and went on deck. Mother followed, 
though more slowly. 

A beautiful sight met their eyes. The steamer 
lay anchored in a land-locked bay. Hills rose from 
three sides, leaving a channel on the fourth through 
which the blue sea came tumbling in to break and 
foam on the circling beach. 


300 Two Boys in the Tropics 

Every object on shore was repeated in the hurrying 
water. Houses, trees, and hills joined in an ever- 
lasting frolic with the baby waves, doubling them- 
selves up, wrinkling their rough sides, now stretch- 
ing out long and slim, then as suddenly growing 
round and fat, plunging under the water and appear- 
ing again — a fairy-land inhabited by fishes. 

“Each owner has two houses,’’ remarked Mr. 
Francis, pointing out this odd effect, “one on shore 
and one in the sea.” 

“I like best the one in the water, it seems so cool 
and jolly, rolling about,” said Halde. 

“And we would need no cradles, or rocking-chairs, 
or bath-tubs,” added Loys. 

“Oh, Father !” exclaimed Halde, “do look at those 
funny birds stealing fish as the men draw in their 
nets.” 

“They are pelicans. In a minute they put enough 
fish in that pouch under their bill to last them a day.” 

‘T don’t think Robinson should have felt sorry to be 
wrecked on such a lovely island as this,” continued 
Halde, ‘‘only it isn’t as small as I thought.” 

“Captain, how large is Tobago?” asked Mr. 
Francis, as this officer approached. 

“Twenty-seven miles long and twelve miles broad. 
If you care to go on shore, the boat is now ready.” 
The boys brought their hats in a hurry, but their 
mother declared she felt too weak to go along. 


Robinson Crusoe’s Island 


301 


“Oh, Mother, you must come!” pleaded both. 
“Suppose you never had the chance of seeing Robin- 
son Crusoe’s island again.” 

Finally, after a cup of tea, Mrs. Francis was per- 
suaded to put on her bonnet, and they all entered the 
boat together. As they drew near shore they rowed 
by a noisy crowd of black boys, playing in the sea like 
young porpoises. The pelicans did not seem in the 
least afraid of the youngsters, neither were the fish, 
for the water was filled with shining, scaled “jacks,” 
a fish resembling the herring. It was these that 
attracted the pelicans, who, in spite of their awk- 
ward movements, managed to avoid the blows and 
kicks aimed at them; and flying, swimming, wad- 
ing, or walking, collected toll from every net that 
passed. 

“Now, boys, we can see what improvement Tobago 
has made since Robinson Crusoe was here,” said 
Mr. Francis, as they landed at a wooden wharf. 
“Take care, or you will fall through the holes. I 
believe if Crusoe were governor at present he would 
have the place repaired.” 

“Father, it seems to me as if Robinson really 
had been here,” remarked Toys, as he skipped along 
by his father’s side. 

“I always said he was true,” began Halde. “Just 
look what a real island this is, and why shouldn’t 
Robinson be real, too ” 


302 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘Yes, and why shouldn’t he come down that hilly 
street, in his goat-skin suit, pointed hat, and um- 
brella, to welcome us ? ” added Mr. Francis. 

“ Because he is dead,” replied Halde, sadly. “You 
know he was very old when the book ended.” 

“If it pleases you, we will suppose him to be real 
while we are here,” went on Mr. Francis. “The 
island lies east and west, so he might have landed and 
climbed the cliffs there to the right. That high hill, 
just above, with the fort upon it, is where he so often 
stood, shading his eyes with his hand, to look out for a 
sail.” 

“His cave must be in the same hill; William said it 
is about three miles from town,” remarked Loys. 

“Let us walk that way. You remember the cave 
was on the northwest side of the hill.” 

They mounted through the steep little town of 
Scarborough. There was not a level street in the 
place. Each house overlooked its neighbor, and all 
seemed as if a good rainfall would send them sliding 
off their foundations into the sea. To reach the 
fort they were obliged to descend into a valley, at 
the bottom of which ran a stream that was crossed 
on stepping-stones. 

“This must be the creek where Robinson brought 
his raft from the ship!” exclaimed Halde, excitedly. 

“And that Friday swam across when the savages 
ran after him,” said Loys. 


Robinson Crusoe’s Island 303 

‘‘There is not enough water in it,” objected their 
mother. 

“Because just now is the dry season,” explained 
Mr. Francis. “From the way the river-bed is worn, it 
must be a considerable stream after the rains begin.” 

They now took a zigzag path up the other side of 
the valley. The negroes had built small huts on 
every possible spot, and goats, fowls, dogs, and chil- 
dren swarmed among the rocks. It seemed to be 
the quarter for washerwomen; so many were busy 
rubbing out clothes. 

“ I wonder if Robinson came down here to wash his 
shirts,” said Halde, as he saw the women at work. 

“He never says anything about washing, but I sup- 
pose he could; sailors do their own washing, you 
know,” returned Loys. 

“He never speaks of bathing, either, though the 
blue sea looks very tempting,” remarked Mrs. 
Francis. 

“ But of course he did,” said Loys. “No one could 
see those lovely waves rolling in without wanting to 
bathe.” 

While speaking they came to a church halfway up 
the hill. Its door was open and the shady seats within 
made a welcome resting-place. From the windows 
they had a beautiful view of the bay and of the neigh- 
boring hills covered with waving fields of sugar-cane 
and forests of fine timber. 


304 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

“Some of those trees are old enough to have 
been here in Robinson’s time,” remarked Mr. Fran- 
cis. “Do you remember in what way he made his 
boards 

“Fie chopped away both sides of a tree until the 
hoard was left in the middle,” answered Loys. 

“ Don’t you think he might have followed a better 
plan.?” 

“He should have taken the tree to a sawmill!” 
shouted Halde. 

“Nonsense, Halde! Do you mean, Father, that 
he could have built a sawmill ?” 

“No, what I mean is a much simpler way, — with 
wedges. They are among the first tools of the savage, 
and a clever man like Robinson ought certainly to 
have thought of them.” 

“Robinson was clever enough; if only Defoe had 
known more,” remarked Halde, sagely. “And 
besides. Father, it isn’t polite to talk against Robin- 
son on his own island.” 

“I have seen trees that would have given him 
boards ready-made. It is a common practice in the 
tropics to cut a circle through the bark of the cabbage- 
palm, which of course kills the tree. The inside 
then soon rots away, leaving the strong outer wood 
that splits easily into boards of any width desired.” 

“And over there are dishes growing, ready to be 
picked,” said Mrs. Francis, pointing to a tree from 


Robinson Crusoe’s Island 305 

which hung on long stems round green fruit the size 
of cannon-balls. 

‘‘Calabashes!” exclaimed Loys. “William made 
some bowls for us to use in our coolie house. He cut 
the calabashes in half, by twisting a string tightly 
around them with a piece of wood. Then he took 
the pulp out and scraped the inside of the bowl with 
broken glass.” 

“If you sew a piece of cloth around the young cala- 
bash, you can make it grow almost any shape you 
wish,” observed Mr. Francis; “so Robinsori could 
have grown bottles as well. Now, let us go to the 
fort, where we will have a good view on all sides.” 

It was a hot climb; but they finally reached the 
top and seated themselves in the shade of a wall. 
The children were soon busy recalling every incident 
of Robinson’s life, feeling that they were upon the 
very ground that he had trodden. 

Loys took the field-glass that Mr. Francis had 
brought, and stood with it raised to his eyes as he had 
seen Robinson do in a picture. “Father, which is the 
east 

Mr. Francis pointed out the direction. 

“That is where Crusoe tried to go around in his 
boat,” continued Loys; “and see! the water dashes 
upon the rocks, just as he said it did. No wonder 
the Spanish ship was wrecked there.” 

“Those are coral reefs and very dangerous,” 


3o6 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

remarked Mr. Francis. ‘‘They extend at least three 
miles from land.’’ 

“It is my turn to look,” said Halde, taking the glass 
from his brother. “I want to find something, too.” 

“Look towards the centre of the island where 
Robinson had his grain fields, and farther westward, 
where stood his bower and goat-farm,” suggested 
Mrs. Francis. She then pointed to the far side of the 
bay and asked the boys if they knew what had 
happened there. 

“That’s where the savages brought Friday on 
shore when he ran away,” answered Loys, promptly. 

“I wish we could go to the other end of the island 
and see where the cannibals ate so many prisoners.” 

“That is cruel, Halde!” exclaimed Loys. “I 
would not want to look at it; would you. Mother 

“And the place he found the print of a man’s foot 
in the sand. I always felt so frightened when we read 
that,” went on Halde, without waiting for his mother 
to answer. “If we had time, I would like to drive all 
over the island.” 

“Very little driving is done here, the roads are too 
hilly. People generally ride the native horses.” 

“If Robinson had only caught one,” began Halde; 
but Loys stopped him by saying, “Horses were not 
native then’^ 

They returned to town by an easier way, where a 
stone bridge crossed the ravine. Again they passed 



A Peccary, or Wild Pig 








ft 



\ 


^ '■ 'v;IPS>'‘ 




• - ■;?( ■ •‘ft* 












« I 


r^^i! - -1^“ > ■ 




Robinson Crusoe’s Island 307 

through streets humped like a camel’s back, ending in 
steep country roads shaded by cedar, mahogany, and 
cocoanut trees. When halfway down, a slight drizzle 
caused them to take shelter in the hut of a shoe- 
maker. Here the boys asked numberless questions, 
which were kindly answered by a white-headed old 
negro who owned the shop, and this is what they 
learned : — 

The woods of Tobago abound in peccaries or wild 
hogs, monkeys, and snakes; yawarris, an animal like 
our opossum; labbas and agoutis, little creatures 
resembling hares; water-hogs, a beast having webbed 
feet, a thick awkward body, a big head, and four 
tusks; and iguanas and lizards. 

Flocks of pigeons, parrots, vultures, doves, pheas- 
ants, and little wrens fly about the island, while 
different kinds of gulls and sea-fowl, of which the 
great man-of-war bird measuring seven feet across the 
wings is the largest, make the shores lively. 

There are also rapid streams filled with fish, alli- 
gators, wading cranes, and wild ducks. Flying-fish 
and other fishes are plentiful in the sea, and turtles 
with eggs can be caught at certain seasons on the 
white sandy beaches. 

The children had heard much of this at home, but 
the facts seemed far more real and interesting when 
told on the island. Their host, quite proud of such 
attentive listeners, was just beginning a wonderful 


3o8 Two Boys in the Tropics 

pirate story, when the rain ceased and Mr. Francis 
said it was time to return to the ship. 

"‘Do, Father, let us hear the pirate story 

“I am very sorry, but the captain told me not to 
remain away too long.’’ 

Just before leaving, Loys thought of one more 
question, “Do grapes grow in Tobago.?” 

“Plenty of dem. Dey is called sea-bay grapes, 
because de trees always grow near de sea. If you 
walk ’round chock over dere, you will meet a row of 
dem not too far from de wharf.” 

Loys nodded his head, as if to say, “You see Robin- 
son was right,” and forgot the pirates in his haste to 
“meet” the grapes. 

A steep climb down a stony path brought the family 
to the beach. Here market-women were selling 
“jacks,” but no grapes. Loys asked a little black 
boy to point out the grape trees, which was willingly 
done. 

The children, who had expected to see grape-vines, 
were greatly surprised to find a row of wild trees 
about the size of those in an apple orchard. The 
limbs began low, near the ground, and spread apart 
as if afraid of touching each other. Thick, broad, 
leathery leaves circled closely around short stems, 
from the end of which hung, or rather stood out, 
bunches of grapes — hundreds of bunches on each 
tree ! 


Robinson Crusoe’s Island 


309 


But surprise soon gave way to a desire of tasting this 
wonder, and a very short time was needed for the 
boys to reach the topmost branches, where, between 
eating, filling their pockets, and throwing fruit 
down to their parents, they spent a jolly half-hour. 

These grapes are a reddish purple, with skin and 
pulp like the ordinary fruit, and have a single stone the 
size of a pea. Nothing could resemble less the grace- 
ful vine than these sturdy trees, so firmly put together 
that a stiff* gale is necessary to move their branches. 
However, the fruit has a pleasant taste, and a tired, 
ship-wrecked sailor need wish no better luck than to 
come across a sea-bay grape tree in full bearing. 


CHAPTER XXXV 


TRINIDAD 

T heir feast ended, the family went on board. 
When comfortably seated in his steamer- 
chair, Toys, taking some grapes from his 
pocket, said, ‘‘Father, these are native here, are 
they not 

“Certainly. They grow in most of the West India 
Islands and in British Guiana, also.” 

“And you blamed Robinson for saying he found 
them on his island,” added Halde, reproachfully. 

“But did not Robinson mention that his grapes 
grew on vines 

“That was only because he thought people would 
laugh at him if he said that he saw grapes growing on 
trees.” 

“And his penguins were pelicans, I suppose?” 
continued Mr. Francis, pointing to these droll birds, 
still busy with the fishermen. 

“Why not? They both begin with a p, and you 
know Robinson’s ink gave out soon after he went to 
the island; so that he had to write everything long 
after it happened and sometimes got a little mixed.” 

310 


Trinidad 


311 

“I will say no more, boys. The Romans claimed 
Romulus and Remus, and the Swiss, William Tell. 
Almost every country has some great hero or founder 
of whom the people love to speak; so why should 
not Tobago have her Robinson Crusoe? He is just 
as worthy to become a part of history as the others; 
indeed, few heroes had his practical wisdom and sense 
of justice.’’ 

Little, round, heavy-looking craft, called Moses 
boats, came alongside the steamer, each laden with 
a hogshead of sugar. The donkey-engine puffed 
away, and the noisy steam winch hurried its utmost 
to take in the cargo. Once more the anchor was 
raised, and the cannon fired its good-by to the 
silent fort, which the hills answered one by one. 
The Barracouta steamed out of the bay, first to- 
wards the east, then westward, on a direct course 
for Trinidad. 

Next morning, on awakening, the family found 
themselves in the Gulf of Paria, about a mile from 
Port of Spain, the capital of the island. Though 
part of their course during the night had been against 
the current, no one suffered from seasickness; and 
when Mr. Francis appeared at the stateroom door 
and asked, ‘‘Who wants to go on shore ?” “I,” was 
distinctly heard three times in answer. 

“Then dress quickly; the sooner we start, the 
better.” 


312 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

The boys scrambled out, and shortly after six 
o’clock the family set off in the captain’s boat. 

‘‘While we are rowing to town I must tell you of a 
man who really lived, and whose name is connected 
with many of the West India Islands.” 

“Christopher Columbus!” interrupted Toys. 
“Mother gave me a book about him before we left 
Georgetown. He visited and named Trinidad on 
his third voyage.” 

“Columbus came into the gulf through what he 
called the Serpent’s Mouth, the opening at the south- 
west end of the island. From the strong current 
and the freshness of the water he concluded that it 
was the outlet of some great river having its rise on 
the mainland. Taste the water of the bay; it comes 
from the Orinoco.” 

The boys took up some of the water in their hands 
and found it scarcely salt. By this time the rowers’ 
strong arms had brought the boat to the wharf. The 
family landed and walked towards the centre of the 
town. It was not a pretty place, and was very hot. 
Disgusting vultures wandered about like tame dogs, 
giving one the idea that the people must be either 
careless or lazy to need the help of these carrion birds 
in order to keep their streets clean. 

But the beauty of Trinidad lies outside the town. 
After ordering a lunch at the hotel to be ready on their 
return, the family started for a drive. Their first halt 


Trinidad 


313 


was at the botanical gardens, where a delightful hour 
was spent wandering through shady lanes bordered 
by tropical plants. 

On their way out they passed a grove of bamboos, 
and Mr. Francis asked the boys if they remembered 
the story of Gulliver and the Lilliputians. ‘‘Here is 
something more wonderful,” he added. “This short 
grass covering the ground and the tall bamboos forty 
feet high are of the same family.” 

The carriage was waiting near by, and when all 
were seated, they continued their drive along a pleas- 
ant road running through a valley to the east of the 
town. Here nature had made a garden far more 
beautiful than the one they had left. In the fore- 
ground, fields of sugar-cane waved their fluffy plumes, 
or a plantation of cocoa could be seen taking shelter 
from the heat under higher trees, the red and brown 
bean-pods studding the bark of the trunks and stems, 
as if nailed there. On the hills beyond rose a mass 
of dense foliage, where huge ferns and palms of va- 
rious forms made a network against the pale blue sky. 

As they drove on, the valley narrowed, the woods 
around them grew heavier and the shadows deepened, 
though sometimes a patch of sunlight drifted into the 
valley as if to cool off. Overhead hung vines in 
festoons from limb to limb, and near by a stream full 
of eager rapids hurried on, giving life to numberless 
soft mosses and creeping ferns. 


314 Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘Tt seems as if a fairy palace ought to be at the 
end of such a road \ ” exclaimed Mrs. Francis. 

‘‘You will see something more practical/’ replied 
her husband. “If we get out here, a few minutes’ 
walk will bring us to the city reservoir.” 

Finding their way through a narrow path, they 
came to the reservoir — three large cut-stone basins 
placed one above the other and filled with water, 
so clear that its surface looked like bits of fallen sky, 
with white clouds gently moving over it. Not a 
creature was to be seen, not a sound to be heard, 
except the flow of the water from basin to basin. 

“Is it enchanted asked Mother, smiling. 

“There is no palace,” said Halde, “but there is 
a summer-house.” 

Mr. and Mrs. Francis rested on a rustic bench 
while the boys ran about. Presently a flock of par- 
rots flew out of the woods and stopped at the upper 
pool to drink. 

“I wish I was a parrot,” whispered Loys to his 
brother. 

“I’d much rather be a monkey,” answered Halde. 

“A parrot can talk.” 

“But a monkey can climb.” 

“Parrots climb also, and can fly as well.” 

“A monkey can hang by his tail and swing.” 

“Oh, boys, do stop that foolish dispute!” called 
their mother from the summer-house. 


Trinidad 


315 


“I wish I was a monkey with wings,” added Halde. 

‘^Even if they had wings, monkeys can’t whistle,” 
returned Toys, and as this was an accomplishment 
Halde had been unable to master, the dispute was 
not carried any farther. 

By this time the red sun glaring from the middle 
basin warned the family that noon had come, and 
they started back to town. On their arrival at the 
hotel, they soon despatched the excellent lunch that 
was awaiting them, after which they went on board. 

Mr. Francis told the boys of a singular lake in the 
island, over which people and horses can walk. 

‘‘When it is frozen .?” asked Toys. 

Mr. Francis laughed. “How could that be in the 
tropics ? The lake I am speaking of is of pitch. 
It is from this pitch lake that comes the asphaltum 
with which we cover our streets in the States. What- 
ever amount is taken out, the oozing mass slowly fills 
up the hole again, so that the supply is never ex- 
hausted. I am sorry we cannot go there, but it is 
twenty-five miles from town, and we start this evening 
for Grenada.” 

The captain, who was pacing the deck, stopped for 
a little chat. “You must be sure to come forward 
at about nine o’clock and see us pass through the 
Bocca,” he said to the boys. 

“What is the Bocca ?” inquired both. 

“Bocca is the Spanish name for mouth; if no- 


3i6 Two Boys in the Tropics 

thing happens to prevent, we shall pass through 
the Dragon’s Mouth to-night.” 

“A dragon’s mouth!” repeated Halde. 

‘‘Yes, and a dangerous place it is, many a ship 
has been lost there.” 

After dinner the family sat on deck, as the vessel 
rushed swifty northward over a smooth sea that 
appeared silver under the bright tropical moon. 

“You had better go to bed, my dear boy,” said 
Mrs. Francis, seeing that Halde’s head dropped 
lower and lower every minute. 

“No, I am waiting for the Focus.” 

“Bocca,” corrected Loys. 

“Yes, Focus,” repeated Halde, wearily, and in 
another moment he was fast asleep. But when later 
the captain sent for them to come, Loys begged hard 
that his brother might go also, and finding it impos- 
sible to wake him, he carried Halde forward and 
seated him on the capstan. 

The great current of the Orinoco swept the vessel 
rapidly towards a narrow gap in the low hills which 
separates Trinidad from South America. This 
sluicelike opening is the Dragon’s Mouth, one of 
the Boccas, of which there are three, each with a 
different name. The water hissed along the rocks 
on both sides of the channel. The shores were so 
near that you could see the leaves on the trees, and 
you felt that a very slight mistake in steering would 


Trinidad 


317 


wreck the vessel. The captain stood on the bridge, 
and the steersman was directly below him. It was 
wonderful how at a word from the one and a move- 
ment from the other the great mass of one thousand 
six hundred tons obeyed; now heading here, now 
there, as it threaded the difficult pass. 

When about halfway through the channel Loys 
succeeded in making Halde open his eyes. “ Do 
you see the Bocca — do you see the land — how near 
it is?’’ 

Halde stared about him and replied in a sleepy 
tone, ‘H see, but where is the dragon ?” 

Mr. Francis lifted him up, saying: “Look your 
last at South America. See on the left that dim 
strip of coast; it was that part of the continent 
Amerigo Vespucius claimed to have traveled over a 
year before Columbus touched the mainland, and 
thus Amerigo gave his name to the new world as its 
discoverer.” 

A little longer, and they had passed the Bocca, 
into the Caribbean Sea. Halde was again fast 
asleep on his father’s shoulder; his last impression 
of South America being a dream of rushing water, 
of strong-winged sea-birds frightened from their 
rocks and circling over the vessel, of low green hills 
and pale mountains, and a fierce dragon in hiding 
somewhere, guarding the Bocca. 


CHAPTER XXXVI 


GRENADA AND BARBADOES 

E very day a new island. Next morning the 
Barracouta lay in the harbor of St. George, 
Grenada; so near shore that a hawser fastened 
the vessel to the wharf. This is the spice island of 
the West Indies. Some sugar is grown there, as 
well as cocoa and coffee; but most of the land is 
planted in nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, pimento, and 
pepper. 

The little bay is so surrounded by land that its 
entrance can scarcely be seen, and so hot that it 
seemed as if you had been set down into a tub of 
warm water — a good-sized tub, however, and a 
very deep one. The steep slopes that rose on all sides 
were here and there dotted with tiny white houses ; 
and an old fort stood as a reminder of the days 
when pirates and sea-fights occurred in these waters. 

“Grenada is an ideal island,’’ said Mr. Francis, 
as the boys came on deck for their first look at the 
place. “It has fine forests and a rich cultivation. 
318 


Grenada and Barbadoes 319 

The people are industrious and sensible. Several 
years ago, when sugar ceased paying a profit, they 
planted spices which have done remarkably well.’’ 

‘‘Let us go on shore and have a drive, like yester- 
day,” proposed Loys. 

“Willingly, if we can find a carriage in this small 
town.” 

Halde suggested climbing to shore on one of the 
hawsers, as shipwrecked sailors do; but Mother 
thought a boat would be more convenient. 

In a few minutes they were rowed to the wharf, 
and were inquiring after a carriage for hire. The 
town could boast of two: one belonging to a grocer 
on the square, the other to a butcher living farther 
away. The square proved to be the roundest square 
ever called by that name, being nothing more or less 
than the crater of a volcano. Of course the fire 
was out, but the ground seemed hot enough to begin 
bubbling up at any moment. To get there you first 
mounted a street lined with houses. This brought 
you to the rim of the cup from where you followed 
another slippery street to the bottom. 

Here the family found a busy market with venders 
strolling about or sitting under umbrellas selling 
their wares. Surrounding the square were a number 
of shops, in one of which Mrs. Francis took a seat on 
a packing-box while her husband went to hunt for 
the carriage. 


320 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

When Mr. Francis returned, it was only to say that 
the grocer’s carriage was out. 

‘T wish we were also out,” sighed Mrs. Francis, 
gasping for air. 

‘‘Come, then, take my arm. The butcher lives 
on the street by the bay.” 

Toys and Halde capered along like young goats, 
while their parents followed slowly after them. 
“If we had a good big palm spathe,” shouted Halde, 
“Mother might sit on it. We could then pull her 
up, and all coast down the other side together.” 

“Don’t you think a little snow would be an ad- 
vantage.?” asked his father. 

“Oh, splendid! Isn’t it a pity that the boys in 
this town have such nice hills for coasting, and no 
snow .?” 

“It is not quite so bad as having an appetite and 
no dinner,” answered Mr. Francis; but by this time 
Halde was out of hearing. 

When they returned to the bay, the children stopped 
every moment to watch the crabs, shells, and coral 
to be seen in the clear water. 

“Father, may we paddle barefooted close to the 
shore.?” said Loys, kneeling to poke a queer-looking 
sea thing that crumpled itself up and hid in the wall 
by the roadside. 

“No, indeed!” exclaimed Mrs. Francis. “Come 
away, you will fall into the water; it is very deep.” 


Grenada and Barbadoes 


321 


The boys obeyed, only to return when a crab more 
lively than usual or a larger piece of coral met their 
eyes; so that Mrs. Francis was glad when they 
arrived at the butcher’s. However, the wished-for 
carriage could not be hired, as the man said his 
horse could not pull so many passengers. In vain 
Mr. Francis promised to walk the horse, to get out 
at the hills, and to make many stops; the butcher 
remained obstinate, and the family had to give up the 
idea of visiting the spice plantations of the island. 

Mrs. Francis consoled herself by buying a quan- 
tity of nutmegs at sixteen cents the hundred, but the 
boys still wished to ramble about. ^‘Do let us walk 
around the bay. I see a beautiful road,” said Loys. 

‘‘Those roads are only to look at, not for use,” 
replied his mother, seriously. 

“Is Mother joking?” asked Halde. 

“Not at all. For people who get headaches and 
fevers such roads are not for use — at least without 
a carriage. Say good-by to Grenada, and come 
quickly on board.” 

Fortunately there was little sugar to load and the 
Barracouta left early in the afternoon. This gave 
the family a chance to see the winding course of 
the bay with its two rocks at the entrance, worn and 
pierced by the action of water. 

“What a nice place for pirates to hide, in the days 
gone by,” said Loys. 


322 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘And to be caught in/’ added his mother. “If 
I had been a pirate, I would rather try my luck in 
the open sea.” 

Outside the bay the long line of Grenadines began 
to appear in the distance, gradually changing from 
palest gray to darkest green as the vessel approached ; 
then fading again, as they were left behind, while 
others took their places. 

“Grenadines means little seeds, a good name for a 
group of small islands,” explained Mr. Francis to 
the boys. 

“Perhaps the person who named them thought 
they would grow to be big countries,” remarked 
Halde. 

“Imagine the feelings of Columbus when, one 
after the other, these islands came into view,” said 
Mrs. Francis. 

“And he saw with his eyes what had been in his 
mind for years,” added Loys, thoughtfully. 

“It must indeed have been glorious !” Mrs. Francis 
continued. “And though Columbus had many 
troubles, few people have had greater reason to be 
satisfied with their lives.” 

“I like Columbus very much, and am very glad 
he is true,” said Halde, earnestly. 

As the sun went down, the sea became rough. The 
family went early to bed and gladly remained there 
until the steamer stopped at Barbadoes. Carlisle 


Grenada and Barbadoes 


323 


Bay, as the harbor is called, has the shape of a half 
circle open towards the sea. Its light green water 
is so clear that any object can be seen on the bottom 
thirty feet below. To the right stands a fort, and to 
the left Pelican Island, a bit of coral reef with a 
small quarantine station upon it. 

The harbor was filled with vessels; some lately 
arrived, with all their colors flying, and one or two 
under full sail, still tacking about to make good their 
entrance. Several English men-of-war and a Ger- 
man training ship were lying idly at anchor, while 
sloops, schooners, brigs, and a large mail steamer 
were busily taking in cargo. The ‘^chanties” or 
songs of the watermen, the shouts of the sailors, the 
rattling of chains and cables, the striking of watch- 
bells, and the chug-chug of donkey-engines mingled 
with the sounds from the shore. 

A number of boats of all sizes and colors crowded 
around the vessel. The Lily, the Star, the Lazy, 
were some of the names shouted out by their darkey 
owners : — 

‘‘Want a boat.? Want a boat? Take me, me 
first here. Me the Star” 

“Me the Lily, good boat. Ask for the Lily, first 
here.” 

The boys waited impatiently for the doctor and 
harbor-master to arrive. They had heard of beauti- 
ful drives, of fine surf-bathing in the green water at 


324 Two Boys in the Tropics 

Hastings, and of a hotel where they might breakfast 
on flying-fish and other good things. Finally the 
officers came, and the captain’s boat took the fam- 
ily to shore. 

‘H am glad we are able to see this island,” said 
Mr. Francis, on landing. ‘Ht was the earliest settled 
of the English West Indies. You remember Robin- 
son Crusoe steered for Barbadoes after his first 
storm.” 

‘‘Oh, yes. Father!” answered the boys, with a new 
interest. 

“And our Washington, when a young man of 
nineteen, visited it. He took smallpox here and was 
laid up for three weeks.” 

A town of stone has always more dignity than 
a town of wood; it looks as if it had lasted, and 
would last. The capital of Barbadoes is built of 
stone. Like other cities in the West Indies, it has 
many of those little wooden houses set on four 
legs, which might be taken for some new kind of 
animal; but its principal streets, though narrow, are 
well built. 

The first visit of the Francis family was to the 
hotel, where a breakfast was ordered to be ready 
on their return; then taking a carriage, they drove 
towards Hastings. The tide was just coming in. 
Mother had brought bathing suits, and in a few min- 
utes Loys and Halde were splashing about among 


Grenada and Barbadoes 


325 


the breakers, with a darkey boy companion, whom 
Mr. Francis employed to look after them. 

Barbadians are expert swimmers; it is even said 
that the black babies learn to swim before they can 
walk. Percy, as the boy was called, dived, floated, 
and moved over or under the water at will, swinging 
his arms, kicking his legs, and butting the waves with 
his woolly head, as they broke over him ; all of which 
Loys and Halde tried to copy. 

As the children had been wishing for a sea bath at 
every island, they were now so delighted that their 
father could scarcely get them to come out. At last 
he said the fun must end, and bidding good-by to 
Percy, they dressed and climbed into the carriage. 

A number of fine estates were passed, and a lovely 
spot, called Bishops Court, was reached, where 
bearded banyans grew plentifully amid other fine 
wood. It is said that these trees gave the island its 
name; harba meaning a beard in Spanish, and 
certainly nothing could be more striking to a stranger 
on landing at Barbadoes than these trees. 

A mossy wall surrounded the estate, but had fallen 
down in one place. The boys begged their father 
to stop the carriage and let them ramble about. 
The roots of the banyan trees grow all over their 
limbs, like branches without leaves, and hang to the 
ground in thick ropes. Loys and Halde made a fine 
swing by tying the ends of these roots together; or 


326 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

climbing hand over hand, up one rope and down 
another, they had a wonderful game of tag. 

After the children were tired playing, the drive 
was continued on to Bridgetown. Here the better 
class of houses were surrounded with gardens, and 
even the tiniest cabins had a few feet of ground in 
front of them filled with green. 

Mr. Francis told the story of a jolly crowd of young 
men who, going home late one night, lifted a hut near 
the sea off of its posts and dropped it into the water. 
The people inside thought it was an earthquake and 
yelled with fright. However, no harm was done, 
and the owner with the help of a few friends easily 
set his house again on its legs. 

The boys laughed and wanted to try if they could 
raise one. ‘‘We won’t throw it down. Father, 
only lift it a little and set it back easy,” explained 
Halde. 

“I am glad of your good intentions, my boy. 
But you and Loys could never raise such a heavy 
weight.” 

“Let us try, anyway,” persisted Halde. “There 
is a wee, wee one over there, just waiting.” 

Mr., Francis willingly stopped the carriage, and the 
boys jumped out. Halde went under on all fours, 
and arched his back against the beams, Loys tugged 
with his hands : the cabin did not budge. 

“Oh, me Fader !” exclaimed a negro woman, look- 


Grenada and Barbadoes 327 

ing out of the window. ^^What dese Buckra boys 
be doin’ 

We are trying to push your house over, old lady,” 
answered Halde, cheerfully. 

The woman swayed to and fro shouting with 
laughter, as if this was the best joke ever made in 
Barbadoes, and the boys, finding their efforts in vain, 
returned to the carriage. 

While sitting at breakfast at the hotel, Loys re- 
marked, ‘‘Father, Barbadoes does not appear as if 
it had been made by volcanoes, like the other islands.” 

“It is formed of coral, but the coral reef itself has 
been forced up by an earthquake. I am told that the 
soil, when seen through a microscope, is full of tiny 
shells, and in many places you can see the rock itself. 
I wish we had more time to look about us; a rail- 
road runs through a pretty country to the northwest, 
where there are beautiful sea cliffs and caves well 
worth visiting. Now, if you have finished eating, we 
must be off. The captain intends starting as soon 
as possible.” 

The rest of the time was spent on board, watching 
the negro boys paddle around the vessel. These 
lively little sailors use their skill in swimming to dive 
for the pennies that passengers throw into the water 
for them. 

Sometimes two would be in a roughly made boat 
just large enough to hold them and very leaky as 


328 Two Boys in the Tropics 

well. One had to bail constantly, in order to keep the 
frail craft afloat, while his companion looked for the 
money. Others, more ambitious and having a 
better boat, formed a partnership of three; one 
rowed, one played the flageolet to attract attention, 
and the third was diver for the company. 

It was seldom that a penny escaped them. They 
would watch the splash when it struck the water, 
and diving under the coin, would let it drop into their 
hands. Then up to the surface they would come, 
holding the prize between their teeth, and ready for 
another. 

Among the divers was Percy, the children’s late 
companion of the bath, who, as the vessel left, shouted 
out: “Good-by, Loys and Halde! Good-by!” 


CHAPTER XXXVII 


OTHER ISLANDS 

P ASSING St. Vincent to the west, they reached 
the island of St. Lucia, eleven hours after 
leaving Barbadoes. 

Castries, the capital, where they dropped anchor, 
is built around a snug little bay like that of Grenada. 
The steamer lay close to the wharf, making it easy 
to go on shore; but the captain was anxious to make 
up for lost time and told the family he would remain 
there only an hour. 

‘‘We can take a little walk, however, and I will 
show you trees catching oysters,’’ said Mr. Francis 
to the boys, who had wanted to drive over the beau- 
tiful hills of the island. 

“How can trees catch oysters.^” asked Loys, 
doubtfully. 

“Look at the mangroves along the shore; their 
long high roots make them appear as if standing on 
stilts. It is on these that the oysters fasten them- 
selves when the tide is in ; and when it ebbs they are 
easily picked off.” 


329 


330 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

^‘What clever trees!’’ exclaimed Halde, at which 
they all laughed. 

'‘St. Lucia is known for a very poisonous snake, 
called fer-de-lance,” continued Mr. Francis, as they 
strolled towards a small park behind the town. "Mr. 
Des Voeux, a friend of mine, told me that when he 
was governor here he tried to rid the island of these 
dangerous snakes and offered sixpence for each head 
brought to him. Such quantities came in that he 
feared the treasury would be depleted and had to 
reduce the price to threepence.” 

After visiting the park, they went to the market, 
where Mrs. Francis bought some fine white grapes, 
"real grapes,” Halde called them, which grow well 
in this island. The boys now had occasion to use 
the few words of French they had learned at school; 
for St. Lucia belonged to France before it was taken 
by England, and the natives still speak the French 
language. 

The hour was soon up, and it was yet early morning 
when the vessel steamed away. Four hours more 
brought them in sight of Martinique, the ill-fated 
island, which on May 8, 1902, was the scene of a 
volcanic eruption that caused a great loss of life and 
property. 

"How desolate it looks!” exclaimed Mrs. Francis, 
as the destroyed city of St. Pierre came into view. 

A mass of ruins rose from the blue waters of the 














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Other Islands 


331 


bay, up towards the purple hilltops. No cross- 
streets could be seen, only layer after layer of deserted 
houses. The family watched the sad sight with 
heavy hearts until the island grew dim in the distance. 

“Islands are as plentiful as in ‘Sindbad the 
Sailor,’” said Loys the next day at dawn when his 
father wakened him to have a peep at Dominica. 

“Are there any wild islands still out here asked 
Halde, rubbing his sleepy eyes with his fists and 
joining his brother at the port-hole. 

“Those of any size have been settled, but some 
little places, I am told, have only a single man for a 
population. A hut furnished with an American 
rocking-chair, a stew-pan, a gun, and a hammock 
forms his country-seat, town house, governor’s 
residence, jail, public buildings, law-courts, and 
capital city — all in one.” 

“I wonder if we could buy an island and live on 
it.^” asked Loys. 

“I daresay it would be possible; Barbuda is 
owned by a gentleman who has made a fine estate of 
it. However, I think we had better not try. You 
remember Sancho Panza did not find the experience 
of governing an island any too pleasant, and Robin- 
son was glad to leave his the first chance he got.” 

“Dominica looks like a big plum cake,” inter- 
rupted Halde, who was not unlike Sancho in his 
fondness for good things to eat. I wish it were 


332 Two Boys in the Tropics 

a plum cake/’ he added after a short pause. ‘^Loys 
and I would then take a pickaxe and dig tunnels 
in it.” 

“I’m afraid, Halde, that it is baked too hard. 
No island of the West Indies shows the effects of 
fire more than this one. The lava flowing from the 
hilltops burst in cooling and left those seams and 
furrows that resemble the crust of a cake. This if 
the land Columbus first touched on his second voy- 
age, on Sunday, November 3, 1493, named 

it after the day: Domenica meaning Sunday in 
Italian.” 

“Will we have time to drive about the island 

“Our vessel does not stop here this trip. But 
we run so near alongshore that it is almost like being 
there, without the fatigue of landing.” 

“Can you show us. Father, the place where Co- 
lumbus landed 

“It is not in this part of the island. He reached 
Dominica from the Atlantic side, and we are now in 
the Caribbean Sea.” 

By this time the boys were dressed, and hurried 
out when their mother called them to the rail. “ Here 
is just the place to surprise a mermaid,” she said, 
pointing to the blue water below. 

The sun pierced the sea to the very bottom with a 
light that seemed as if shining through ground 
glass. Coral in masses made a strange sea-garden 



The Ruined City of Martinique 




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Other Islands 


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through which little black fishes rushed about in 
fright as the shadow of the vessel fell upon them. 

“Oh, how lovely!’’ exclaimed Halde. “Do you 
really think, Mother, that we may see a mermaid ?” 

“Not if you look carefully, my boy,” answered 
Mrs. Francis, with a smile. “Stories of mermaids, 
sea-serpents, and other such fantastic creatures came 
from travelers who did not know how to use their 
eyes.” 

Loys then proposed that they catch some of the 
little black fishes swimming about the vessel, and he 
and his brother ran off to beg a line from the mate. 
Tempting bits of bacon were put on the hooks and 
the lines were trailed in the water, but the sensible 
little fishes were content with their pretty home in 
the sea and would not take the bait. 

When evening set in, another island was reached. 

“ Boys, look well at that island, it is Montserrat,” 
called Mr. Francis. “What would you think of a 
people who live from lime juice ?” 

“I think they would be very sour,” observed 
Halde. 

“Isn’t it odd that sugar and limes should thrive 
so well on the same soil,” remarked Mrs. Francis, 
as she saw acre upon acre of cane fields bordered by 
mile upon mile of lime plantations. 

“You see. Mother,” explained Halde, “the limes 
must have sugar in order to make lemonade.” 


334 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

‘‘It is not so much for lemonade as for bread and 
butter that the people plant them/’ answered his 
father. “Montserrat has become prosperous by 
the sale of lime-juice. The cargo of that vessel 
in the harbor will be nothing but barrels of the juice. 
In one year they sent away a hundred and sixty 
thousand gallons; and one company alone owns two 
hundred thousand lime trees in full bearing.” 

“It ought to be called Lemonade Island,” sug- 
gested Halde. “I wish we could go on shore for 
a glass.” 

“The captain has no cargo for this place. How- 
ever, to-morrow you will be able to run about on 
another island.” Mr. Francis referred to Antigua, 
which was reached in the morning. 

The Barracouta lay more than two miles from the 
town of St. John. “Why don’t we anchor nearer 
the city.?” asked Mrs. Francis of the captain. 

“On account of pirates,” was the answer. 

The boys opened their eyes wide with wonder. 
“Are there really pirates still here.?” asked Loys, 
much interested. 

“Not in these days, but at the time St. John was 
built there were plenty of pirate ships throughout 
the Caribbean Sea. The bold pirates, not satisfied 
with plundering ships, would attack the towns along 
the coast and rob the people. For this reason St. 
John was placed far back in the bay, where a coral 



Copyright by B. L. Singley 

A Sugar Plantation 

The Negro Woman is carrying upon her Head a Bundle of Ferns, which she will use for Fuel 





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Other Islands 


335 

reef prevents any one from landing except in small 
boats/’ 

The visit to Antigua was a short one. What de- 
lighted the family most was the long row to and from 
the island, with a negro crew singing “chanties,” 
or boat songs, to the beat of their dripping oars. 

Next, the rugged mountains of Nevis appeared in 
view as the Barracouta steamed westward. Then 
came St. Kitts, with its fields of cane, thick-growing 
and soft-looking like the fur of an animal. 

“That is a volcano,” said Mr. Francis, pointing to 
the sombre mass of Mt. Misery, half-hidden in the 
clouds. 

“Does it ever spout .?” asked Halde. 

“No, it is a fairly well-behaved volcano, though 
it has a deep crater that still smokes and smells of 
sulphur.” 

“St. Kitts Columbus named after himself,” 
Toys remarked; “he found it on his second voyage. 
I read that in a book, and the mate told me the woods 
are full of monkeys.” 

“That is quite a lot of information. Toys,” an- 
swered Mrs. Francis. “Columbus certainly chose a 
very pretty island for his namesake ; and the sparkling 
sea, the fertile land, and bright sun, with Mt. Misery 
in the background, seem like a picture of his own 
varied life.” 

Basseterre, as the capital of St. Kitts is called, is a 


336 ' Two Boys in the Tropics 

modest little town of only a few streets. A square 
surrounded by palms and a public garden half 
covered by the wide-spreading limbs of a banyan 
tree are its only pretentions to beauty. 

“Let us walk to the market,” said Mr. Francis, 
after the family had strolled about the town. “I 
always like to see what people eat; for you will 
generally find that the wiser we grow, the more care 
we take in feeding ourselves.” 

“That is an easy way to be wise,” returned Halde. 
“ If you give me some money, I will show you how 
wise I can be.” 

“ Perhaps, Haldej you will only show us what a 
greedy boy you are.” 

The market was nothing more than a low shed, 
under the shade of which a row of black women were 
sitting on the ground with piles of fruit and vege- 
tables around them. Loys bought an avocado pear, 
while Halde struck a bargain for a huge bunch of 
fig-bananas, nearly as big as himself, and which his 
father had to carry for him. 

After a look at the church, where the boys climbed 
the belfry, the family went to breakfast at a little 
hotel with seemingly no entrance to it. Finally, 
a chance opening in the fence brought them to the 
house, where the host, a nice old colored man, ex- 
plained that he was making improvements and would 
soon have a front door added to the place. 



Negro Women on their Way to Market, St. Kitts 











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Other Islands 


337 


While eating breakfast, Mr. Francis sent for a 
carriage, as they had still about an hour to spare 
before going back to the vessel. A beautiful drive 
to Frigate Bay ended their visit. The boys were 
greatly pleased with some white peacocks they saw 
there, and their mother admired the wide fields of 
arrowroot that tinted the countryside with every 
shade of green. 


CHAPTER XXXVIII 


BYWATER 

“ NE more island and then home,” remarked 
1 § Mr. Francis, when the steamer began again 

to pufF forward. 

“There are plenty of others on the map. Father,” 
returned Toys. “Won’t we see St. Domingo, Cuba, 
and Jamaica.^” 

“Not on this trip; our vessel does not go so far 
west.” 

“What is that one over there.?” asked Mother, 
presently. 

“St. Eustatius; it belongs to the Dutch.” 

“The little islands must feel very lonely when the 
steamer goes by without stopping,” remarked Halde. 

“Not as lonely as when they were not found at 
all,” answered Toys. “Anyway, they can see the 
ships passing.” 

“ How can they see without eyes ? ” 

“Neither can they feel, for that matter. Islands 
are not animals.” 

“What are they ?” 

“Islands!” 


338 


339 


Bywater 

‘‘Boys, it seems to me you are discussing a very 
foolish subject, and had better end it,” said their 
mother, reprovingly. 

“All the same I pity the little islands,” added 
Halde, wishing to have the last word. 

Before bedtime Mr. Francis pointed out Saba, 
a great rock standing like a fort in the sea, and so 
steep that the people who live there have had to cut 
steps in the cliff in order to reach their homes. 

Next morning they landed at Santa Cruz and 
prepared for a long drive across the island. Here 
they heard Danish spoken for the first time. But 
though the place belongs to Denmark, the planters 
are mostly Irish, and they, as well as the negro 
laborers, speak English. 

The first pleasant surprise the family had was 
the endurance of the meagre little horses harnessed 
to their carriage. Mother said they looked as if 
changed from mice, like those of Cinderella ; however, 
no one could find fault with the way they did their 
work, scampering up and down hill through the 
long hot day. 

The roads were wide and bordered on either side 
by low mossy walls overrun with vines. There 
was scarcely a level mile, but the hills were neither 
as high nor as steep as in most of the places they had 
visited. Fields of waving cane covered the land 
like a sea of green. Here and there oxen, guided by 


340 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

black men, were ploughing furrows in the deep, rich 
earth. Comfortable dwellings and large factories 
dotted the landscape, and windmills tossed their 
long arms before the breeze. Many of these are 
used to force the cane juice through pipes to factories 
at a distance. 

About halfway across the island Loys pointed to 
a handsome house without a roof. There were no 
marks of fire about it, and the walls looked as though 
they had been built for some time. People were 
evidently living there, and Loys asked the driver 
why they had not finished the top. 

“Dat same house be finish too long,’’ was the 
reply. 

“But it has no roof.” 

“She did gone, long time now.” 

“Why did they take it away 

^*They no take she away, big hurricane take she 
away, lif’ she right off. People no put roof any more 
jest for dem hurricanes to puff she off*.” 

“Do you think a hurricane really did it. Father 

“Certainly. You remember Captain Stout telling 
you of the great force of the wind. This is a hurri- 
cane region, and a number of these islands lie in their 
track. Earthquakes, too, are felt here. Not tiny 
shakes, like those we had in British Guiana, but 
fearful jolts and shiverings that break mountains, 
split valleys, and turn towns into heaps of ruins. 


Bywater 341 

Tidal waves follow — enormous walls of moving 
water that sweep everything before them — and are 
even more dangerous than the earthquakes/’ 

At the end of the drive was the quaint little town of 
Bassin, clustered in a half circle around the bay, 
where a reef made a tumbling row of white foam 
separating the blue sea from the blue sky. The 
houses were tinted pink and yellow, and the weather- 
stained walls, the stone archways, the courtyards, 
balconies, and outside stairways added to the place a 
certain air of old Europe. 

After climbing around streets until weary, the 
family went to take lunch; not at a hotel, this 
time, but to a comfortable old residence, where 
the landlady herself entertained them, and her 
daughter played pretty Spanish waltzes for them on 
the piano. 

Towards evening they drove back, dipping down 
into the night as the road ran along the valleys, rising 
into twilight when halfway up the mountains, and 
trotting into full daylight on the top. 

Finally the sun set. The road was black and 
scarcely to be seen, yet the little ponies trotted gayly 
on. By the time the last hill was left behind, the town 
of West End could be seen all a-twinkle with welcome 
lights, among which the red and green eyes of the 
ships at anchor stared from the bay. 

A good supper, eaten with an appetite sharpened 


342 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

by their thirty miles’ drive, ended the family’s visit 
to Santa Cruz. A short row in the moonlight brought 
them to the vessel, and soon after the prow of the 
Barracouta was pointed straight for home. 

Next morning they passed between the islands of 
Porto Rico and St. Thomas, into the Atlantic Ocean. 
A storm that followed up from behind burst over 
the steamer; and now was seen the difference be- 
tween sails and steam. Wind or no wind, the 
steamer pushed forward; the calmer the weather, 
the faster the speed. Where the Potomac would have 
been drifting unable to steer, the Barracouta covered 
nearly three hundred miles a day. 

Yet it was pleasant to remember those quiet days 
on the Potomac, when, with every white sail set, she 
rose and fell on the tossing waves as softly as a sleep- 
ing bird. The Barracouta, on the contrary, seemed 
always to be fighting her way; she did not ride the 
waves, but ploughed through the water, which split 
before her as if hurt. Then, too, she shook and 
panted; she was always noisy and often dusty. How- 
ever, to all these objections Mother would answer 
with a happy smile, ‘'She goes fast.” 

The tropics were soon left behind, the bulging 
earth now hid the Southern Cross, and the North Star 
stood higher each night. 

Only six days more remained, and New York would 
be reached. All the talk was of home; and to hear 


Bywater 343 

the children, no one would think they had ever 
been anxious to leave it. 

‘‘We have real winter there, with sleighing and 
skating,” said Loys. 

“And can run about all day in the sun and not 
get the least bit of fever,” added Halde. 

“There are no betes-r9uges in the grass.” 

“We can walk in the woods, there is no bush-rope 
to tangle it up, and no camoudis to bite us.” 

“And oh, Halde! It is lovely to climb the apple 
trees in the orchard, and also to pick cherries and 
peaches. I like them far better than mangoes.” 

“One plant you have forgotten, the fruit of which 
always grows best at home,” said Mother. 

“What is that .^” exclaimed both children together. 

“Love!” 

“Oh, no, we have not forgotten dear Grandmother 
and Grandfather.” 

“And Auntie and uncles. They will not think 
us such little boys now,” said Halde, who in spite of 
his boast was very small for his age. 

But recalling is not equal to seeing. Long before 
they came to the green shore water of New York 
bay, the number of vessels coming and going showed 
that some great harbor was near. The many flags, 
rigs, and hulls, the slow-sailing ships, the rushing 
steamers ; all were on their way to bid good morning 
to the new world. Then the pert little pilot-boats 


344 


Two Boys in the Tropics 

and the various shore craft were met, and at last the 
welcome cry of ‘‘Land was shouted from the mast- 
head. 

“Owr country, Halde,” said Loys, pointing with 
pride to the strip of coast in the distance. 

“Yes,’’ returned Halde, “and look at the different 
flags, ours is the prettiest.” 

The vessel steamed past Sandy Hook, up into the 
calm, wide inner bay. One can well imagine the 
Barracouta, after her experiences with the wash- 
basin kind of harbors of the West Indies, saying to 
herself between puffing and wheezing, “Now this 
is what I call comfort, no fear of bumping into each 
other here !” 

The boys’ excitement increased with every city they 
passed : Brooklyn, where they landed, and New York, 
where they stayed over night. The houses forming 
endless streets, the still more endless noise and bustle, 
the elevated road rattling overhead, the cars, the 
hacks, vans, carriages, and omnibuses below, the 
shop windows filled with beautiful or useful objects, — 
all made the brothers open their eyes with wonder, 
and at each new surprise Loys did not forget to 
repeat, “This is our country, Halde!” 

But perhaps the greatest wonder to the boys 
was the number of people they saw. “I never knew 
there was so many people in the world,” whispered 
Halde. 



Bywater 













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Bywater 345 

“To where are they all going, Father?” inquired 
Loys. 

“ Each has some different end in view.” 

“There must be a great many ends in New York.” 

“Yes, and beginnings, too. We, also, have found 
an end here.” 

“Not quite,” said Mother; “to-morrow.” 

To-morrow came. The day began with an early 
drive down to a ferry that brought them to the 
railroad station. A swift train was taken, and in a 
short time they reached Philadelphia, where they 
stopped to change cars. Then, on again they rushed, 
until towards evening the hills and fields began to have 
a familiar look. 

“We are near Bywater,” whispered Mother. 

“There is the river, I remember it well,” said Loys. 

“And the canal and tow-path, and the same old 
mules,” exclaimed Halde. 

“And the smoky furnaces,” continued Loys. 

Almost before they knew it the cars stopped, and the 
conductor shouted, “Bywater!” 

Who can truly describe a welcome home I The 
kisses and warm hugs, the questions without answers 
and answers unheard because everybody is talking 
at once. Mother’s eyes were dim ; but this time from 
joy. 

A few steps brought them to the house, where 
Grandmother and Grandfather stood on the porch, 


346 Two Boys in the Tropics 

their dear faces shining with love. More kisses, sweet 
words, and embraces followed ; even Snap came in for 
a share of caresses after Halde had introduced him to 
all. 

Then came supper for the tired travelers, where 
every one found just what he or she liked best — 
among other dainties those square brown waffles, 
with holes for butter and sugar mixed with cinnamon, 
that the boys delighted in. When the very pattern of 
the table-linen, a design of harps, flutes, and laurel 
wreaths, the familiar china, and even a tiny dent in 
one side of the coffee-pot that had been there so long it 
thought itself a part of the service, — all seemed say- 
ing: “Welcome home ! Welcome home The big 
sideboard tried to look jolly, and the old clock had its 
full moon showing in honor of the company, though 
it was a dark night outside. Even the men who 
brought the trunks shook hands, and the servants 
were glad with the rest. 

No wonder Mother, later, when seated between her 
parents, one hand of each in hers, said, “The best 
part of going away is coming back.” 

“Grandmother,” whispered Loys, as he kissed her 
good night, “this is the best country we have seen.” 

“And you and Grandfather are the best people,” 
added Halde, who was cuddled, half-asleep, in his 
grandfather’s lap. 


PEEPS AT MANY LANDS 


LITTLE TRAVEL BOOKS 
FOR LITTLE READERS 


A Ju'benite 
Series 


Beautifully Illustrated 
in Colors 


This is a series of beautiful books spiritedly 
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PUBLISHED BY 


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64-66 Fifth Avenue, New York 


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64-66 Fifth Avenue, New York 


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PEEPS AT MANY LANDS 


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64-66 Fifth Avenue, New York 




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